Intelligent CISO Issue 43 | Page 55

Cloud migration plans surge despite security concerns

to sweeping changes across every industry in the UK , with organisations having to fast-track their Digital Transformation to adapt to the ‘ new normal ’. A critical component is the move to the cloud as part of a digitalfirst infrastructure .
The cloud has the power to deliver increased connectivity and flexibility , improve network optimisation and facilitate real-time connections to global digital ecosystems . Transforming legacy IT infrastructures in this way means businesses can leverage new and innovative technologies to generate increased flexibility and scalability .”
quinix has found there has been

E a significant year-on-year leap in UK companies planning to move business-critical applications to the cloud , despite cybersecurity concerns .

The need to remain competitive and cater to increased user demands has prompted an 11 % jump to 37 % of UK companies saying they plan to move business-critical applications to the cloud in 2020 – 21 , compared to the previous year . As digital leaders build robust digital infrastructures to ensure future success , it is estimated that more than half ( 54 %) of their IT infrastructure is now on the cloud , despite ongoing concerns over cloud security . These findings come from Equinix ’ s annual global study of the views of 2,600 IT decision-makers across the Americas , Asia-Pacific and EMEA – the
Equinix 2020 – 21 Global Tech Trends Survey ( GTTS ).
Since the outbreak of the global COVID-19 pandemic , the risk of cyberattacks has greatly expanded at the digital edge . Cybercrime costs the world economy more than US $ 1 trillion with the average cost to organisations estimated to be more than half a million dollars per incident . Risk has been compounded by the large number of companies quickly shifting network capacity to cater to increasing volumes of remote worker data traffic . This has prompted a surge in cloud migration and broad implementation of cloud-based digital infrastructure as part of a hybrid infrastructure strategy .
Russell Poole , Managing Director , UK , Equinix , said : “ The pandemic has led
Jennifer Cooke , Research Director , Edge Strategies , IDC , added : “ Shifts in population centres , the increasing occurrence of cyberattacks , rapidly expanding data volumes and compliance needs , the creation of business ecosystems and the transformation to digital business have been driving the need for a new approach to digital infrastructure .
“ These market forces are driving IT leaders to consider the best strategies and prioritise investments across the digital core , Edge and exchange of data .”
The GTTS found 79 % of UK respondents believe migrating to the cloud is a top priority , with 86 % focused on digitising their IT infrastructure .
This move is not being made lightly , with the threat of data leaks / cyberattacks as a result of increased cloud adoption being perceived as one of the biggest threats to organisations in the UK , with 47 % of local respondents citing this . u
intelligent CLOUD SECURITY
www . intelligentciso . com
55