Are security concerns limiting cloud adoption?

Private cloud adoption could add more storage and versatility to a company's mainframe functions by placing them in a digital space, but concerns remain over how safe such a solution could be. According to a survey from the Information Security Company that drew from multiple industry sources, the potential lack of security is still a significant barrier for those organizations thinking about whether to enter the cloud.

While this survey, which consisted of responses from more than 1,000 people, shows many are already using the cloud, it also suggests which security threats are most pressing. The Spotlight Report detailing the results shows that nine out of 10 organizations have public cloud security concerns and many managers are unsure of the impact of personal cloud storage from outside users.

The most commonly deployed categories of business applications in the cloud were web, communication and collaboration apps, with storage being the preferred workload of 45 percent of respondents. A total of 90 percent said they were either very or moderately concerned about security.

Corporate data needs to be handled with care in the cloud to alleviate some of the specific situations that could compromise this information, such as insecure service or unauthorized access. Some of the important pieces of data companies could rely on cloud support for include emails, intellectual property and customer data.

Avoiding the security hazards of public cloud is easier with private cloud-friendly tools that bring legacy applications more easily into a crawlable web space. Terminal emulation allows for companies to employ security solutions while interacting with the most commonly used web browsers and sidestepping issues associated with installation and plugins. Users can minimize their risk by making the terminal emulation process simple.