Some companies opting for safe route to cloud

Thursday, October 28, 2010

In order to minimize security and legal risks, some companies are taking more cautious approaches to cloud computing adoption, according to a recent Computerworld article.

Companies are utilizing preliminary cloud platforms to take advantage of the cost-saving and scalable aspects of the cloud while also ensuring they don’t expose themselves to certain risks. Computerworld highlighted the approach of one environmental services company, Safety-Kleen.

Safety-Kleen is a company with about 4,200 employees. According to Computerworld, the company uses the cloud to run 15 percent of its applications, including customer relationship management and travel management functions. Within three years, it could increase its cloud application portfolio to about 35 percent.

"I can go to a variety of [Software-as-a-Service] providers and put in software that’s every bit as functionally rich as anything I’ve developed on-site," said Safety-Kleen CIO Mark Stone at the Computerworld Storage Networking World conference earlier this month.

Cloud-based services are becoming increasingly viable options to meet enterprise needs. According to an IDC report, the cloud market is will grow to about $55 billion in 2014, up from $23 billion today.