Concerns and confusion keep some businesses from utilizing new innovations
17 August 2011 17:04:31
While many businesses and organizations have already decided to take advantage of cloud computing for IT needs, others are lagging for a variety of reasons. Experts believe many businesses that have not begun to plan on making a transition to the cloud are mostly concerned with security, while others may find the new technology too complex to feel comfortable making a major IT change.
Still, various organizations with high security requirements have carried out changes with much success. For example, NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab recently disclosed its use of private and public cloud services for a large portion of its tasks over the past three years, citing vast reductions to its IT costs with no security problems.
Additionally, according to Healthcare IT News, 30 percent of medical organizations have either already begun to use cloud services or are in the process of making the transition. The cloud has proved to be a major step in the right direction for easing the demands of statutes such as HIPAA compliance and meaningful use.
Fresh Business Thinking recently published an article discussing the businesses still failing to take advantage of the benefits of cloud IT. According to the article, a new survey from Lifeline IT found 9 out of 10 companies reported finding new technological innovations too complex and confusing. Additionally, the website notes three quarters of the participants in the study felt new IT systems, including the cloud, needs more support from properly trained specialists.
"Despite technology playing an increasingly important role in business growth and development, companies are failing to get to grips with some fundamental basics around security and innovation," Daniel Mitchell, Lifeline IT founder and director, stated. "IT and technology can be confusing, but with credible advice and wise financial investment, it can bring huge amounts of added value to an organization."
A majority of those surveyed believed reducing IT costs could result in long-term problems for their respective businesses, the website reports. The article cites 97 percent of respondents listing security as their most imperative IT concern, while less than a quarter believed the business world would be using the cloud and other innovations as an IT standard within the next five years.
While a number of industry experts have established the security concerns statistic, the latter was slightly unexpected. According to the International Data Corporation, the cloud is projected to grow from a $3.8 billion, 600,000 unit industry in 2010, to $6.4 billion and more than 1.3 million unit market by 2014.
-McAfee Cloud Security
