Public cloud computing not drawing huge numbers of storage customers

Monday, June 27, 2011

According to research from InformationWeek Analytics, relatively few customers have jumped on board the public cloud computing bandwagon for the purposes of storage space.

Despite generally significant increases in cloud computing adoption rates industry-wide, the researchers found, only 15 percent of surveyed businesses said they currently use public cloud storage, with 10 percent more saying they planned to consider the system within the next two years.

"Companies are very protective of their data - and rightly so. They need more storage space and services, but they're not going to move their critical business and customer information to a public cloud until they're absolutely sure it's safe and accessible," said the company's content director, Lorna Garey.

Nearly 75 percent of respondents said security concerns were the reason they were avoiding the public cloud for storage purposes, according to the study.

Most of those who do use public cloud storage are taking advantage of the possibilities for online backup, the researchers said.

The use of a VPN service could allay some of the concerns expressed about public cloud storage security, experts say.