When it comes to the cloud, CIOs, CEOs prefer to keep it private

Everyone loves the convenience and lower costs of cloud-based applications and services, but even those most enamored with saving a buck or pushing out a new mobile application recognize that not all clouds are created equal – particularly when it comes to security.

A new survey conducted by IDG Connect and commissioned by Unisys found that 50 percent of business and technology decision-makers prefer private clouds dedicated to individual companies or departments compared to hybrid (26 percent) or public (24 percent) alternatives.

Not surprisingly, 60 percent of the respondents said providing adequate security remains the biggest challenge for delivering cloud-based services. To that end, 92 percent said they were interested in implementing security by creating secure communities of interest (COI) which use segmentation through software rather than physical infrastructure to safeguard data and ensure only authorized users are able to access it.

Half of the executives said they also preferred a private cloud for key requirements such as ease of use and meeting new customer demands.

The survey queried 103 business and IT leaders at US-based organizations with more than 1,000 employees. The respondents identified themselves as being involved in the data, network security and cloud-related purchase decisions made by their organizations in the past year.

See also:

• 12 reasons why public clouds are better than private clouds
• Security implications of public vs. private clouds
• The seven sins of private cloud adoption
• Private cloud is ill-advised and archaic says AWS boss