For a third of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) thinking about migrating their infrastructure to the cloud, security is not a strategic priority, new research shows.
A new survey from Amazon Web Services of more than 800 C-suite executives, vice presidents and directors from global SMBs shows that more than a third (35%) will not prioritize security in their cloud migration efforts.
Why? There are a number of reasons. The biggest problem is that respondents see this as an additional cost item and not as a means to enable growth. According to AWS, this thinking is due to the fact that 41% have not completed any security training and only 43% plan to do so in the next 12 months. Another reason is that half (50%) of respondents are concerned that data in the cloud is not as secure as on local endpoints. Finally, respondents feel they need a large IT team and sufficient resources to keep their cloud locations secure. Four in ten also find it too difficult to find the right staff for the position.
Cloud security drives revenue?
Amazon, on the other hand, claims that investing in cloud security is a revenue, growth and customer driver because it reduces all kinds of risks and minimizes potential downtime. The cloud services company claims that securing these properties doesn’t require a large team or a huge pile of cash, as there are plenty of automated solutions that can keep the business secure and compliant, without burning a hole in the pocket.
For AWS, maintaining the security of on-premises infrastructure is more complex, takes more time, and is generally harder to achieve.
In his writing, Infosecurity magazine added that there are “legitimate security concerns” for those looking to migrate to the cloud, such as the shared responsibility model, as well as the increasing complexity, especially in hybrid cloud environments.