Security a top concern as companies approach cloud computing warily

Despite industry optimism, cloud computing is having a tough time gaining acceptance among companies that have been leery about security and the lack of experience with cloud computing that their IT staff have, a new survey says.

And, the survey from computer security firm Symantec say, many companies that have chosen to opt for remote data products aren't happy with the outcome.

Some two-thirds of companies surveyed are considering cloud services, are already in trials or have decided not to pursue the technology. Just 20 percent of respondents said they were actively engaged in cloud computing.

The results are somewhat of a surprise. Research firm Forrester forecast growth in the segment would be enormous, ballooning from $41 billion this year to $241 billion in 2020. Cloud computing has been pitched as an easy way for companies to scale their operations without having to incur major capex on additional hardware and software.

Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN), Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT), Salesforce, Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) and Rackspace are all major players in the space.

Organizations have adopted cloud computing to expand storage and back up, Symantec said, to the tune of about 75 percent of respondents.

"While computing changes constantly, most shifts are simple changes that don't require organizations to change the core of how they work. Not so with cloud computing," Symantec said. "It requires organizations to change how they approach IT."

Symantec said that as the market matured, it was likely to gain acceptance.

For more:
- see this Reuters article

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