The path to cloud adoption

Companies are on the path to cloud adoption. According to a recent report, 28% of U.S. organizations are using cloud computing today, with 73% reporting their first step was implementation of a single cloud application. Yet during 84% of organizations say they have employed for the moment one cloud application, most do not but self-identify as "cloud users" who are "implementing or maintaining cloud computing."

Why not? Aren't they using the cloud? Like as not it depends on your definition. There are countless definitions of "cloud computing" currently in use as the research continues to grow in popularity. For this article, we define cloud computing as a model for enabling convenient, on-demand access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources that can be provisioned rapidly. With that definition in mind, let's look at adoption.

The cloud to consolidate their IT infrastructure

CDW's Cloud Computing Tracking Poll found that organizations are moving applications to the cloud to consolidate their IT infrastructure, reduce IT energy and capital costs and provide anywhere access to documents and applications. Applications most commonly operated in the cloud in 2011 were commodity applications -- including email, file storage, Web and video conferencing and online learning.

One of the key reasons many companies use the cloud for commodity applications is because they assume a cloud provider's security is robust enough for these non-critical applications. But, organizations say they are moving to the cloud very carefully and selectively, partly because of security concerns. Why? Because cloud computing represents a significant shift in how computing resources are provided and managed. Many organizations wonder how secure data stored in the cloud can be, and some hesitate to give up the control that comes with in-house computing resources. Because of this, many organizations are holding back when it comes to moving more critical data to the cloud, in spite of attractive benefits.

Security concerns tied to cloud computing are clear, nevertheless tangible efforts to protect data in the cloud are often lacking despite these concerns. Many cloud users miss key opportunities to secure data in the cloud by not taking advantage of all available security features and/or not taking steps to verify their cloud provider's security.

As we begin 2012, companies are thoughtfully migrating to cloud solutions when and where it makes sense. Are they sending everything to the cloud? No, nor should they. Nevertheless they are not saying no to the research either.

The smartest thing you can do is to align your organization with a trusted partner who can help guide you through the process of cloud adoption. Cloud computing offers a long list of benefits to organizations large and small, however ensuring that cloud-based data is secure is a critical first step nobody should skip on their journey to the cloud.

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