Cloud Services Providers Play Important Role in Improving Cloud Trust: Report

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Cloud may be eating up more of corporate and government IT budgets, but trust in the cloud is not growing at the same pace of adoption, according to a new report by The Economist’s research unit, sponsored by Google.

According to the report released Monday, which included responses from 452 senior executives worldwide, respondents who said that their organization had a higher trust in the cloud also report much better outcomes on both non-financial and financial success metrics than their peers who indicate lower trust. Respondents that report high trust in cloud overall cite a 9.1 percent profit rise versus one percent by the low trust group.

READ MORE: Report: Cloud Requires New Approach to Security Operations

“Higher cloud trust appears to facilitate behavioral and process change within an organization,” according to the report.

About 38 of IT at respondents’ organizations is cloud-based, with that percentage growing to almost half (45 percent) by 2019.

The report’s findings suggest that cloud reliability is critical, as 60 percent of respondents said that the reliability of potential suppliers’ cloud-based IT has influenced purchasing decisions and 59 percent said that this same consideration has affected partnership decisions with other organizations.

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According to the report, 52 percent of respondents saw some increase in overall cloud trust over the past three years; just 15 percent report a great rise in confidence in the cloud. Thirteen percent note a decline in trust.

Today 16 percent of respondents said their organization has a very high level of trust in the cloud.

So what are organizations who want to build trust in the cloud have to do? According to the report, it’s not something that can be done overnight, and part of the onus lies on the cloud providers themselves.

“When cloud computing started to gather momentum, technology companies had an opportunity to provide education,” Dr. Said Tabet, co-chair, CloudTrust Working Group, Cloud Security Alliance said. “They did not do that. Things have been moving fast, and that has created some misunderstanding.”

The report said that cloud providers and their customers need to demonstrate that cloud services are trustworthy, and define common standards and best practices.

Within organizations C-suite support of cloud initiatives is critical in fostering trust in the cloud, and to ensure that users across an organization benefit from the technology, start with high-profile improvements that encourage quick uptake and rapid acceptance. Providing education and offering a way for use the tools in creative ways can help people trust the platform more.

Source: TheWHIR