Survey shows move toward cloud, away from data centers

Survey results from Unisys show a trend away from traditional on-premises data centers toward cloud-based hosting. Survey respondents indicated that use of on-premises data centers will decrease from 43 percent now to 29 percent in 2019, while private cloud use will increase from 20 percent now, up to 28 percent in two years. Over the same period, public cloud use will rise from 18 percent to 21 percent, hybrid cloud from 11 percent to 13 percent, and use of community cloud (a private cloud shared by multiple organizations with a common mission) will hold steady at 9 percent.

"The results of this survey show that government decision makers understand the importance of embracing the cloud to help achieve their modernization goals," Venkatapathi "PV" Puvvada, president of Unisys Federal, said in the survey report. "But it also showed that nearly two-thirds are encountering unanticipated difficulties as they move to the cloud. Fortunately, those respondents who are actively working with industry partners to facilitate their cloud transitions reported a much easier road to cloud adoption by a two-to-one margin."

The respondents show widespread agreement on the benefits enterprises expect from the cloud. At least 94 percent cite improved disaster recovery/business continuity, agility and flexibility, more efficient storage, reduced capital costs and standardization of IT as being at least somewhat important. Improving agility—the capability to deploy IT resources nimbly in response to quickly changing business conditions and the factor most closely aligned to gaining competitive advantage—is the top driver overall, with 78 percent of respondents saying it is critical or very important.

In addition, many respondents report encountering unexpected roadblocks, with 60 percent saying those impediments slowed their cloud migrations and 17 saying that the roadblocks brought their migrations to a standstill.

While nearly two-thirds of respondents (62 percent) rated cybersecurity as the top priority for agency modernization projects over the next year, nearly the same percentage (59 percent) reported that they think their agency's IT modernization efforts have resulted in an increase in the IT security challenges they face. And when asked to grade their agencies' modernization efforts, 43 percent graded those efforts at "satisfactory" or lower when it comes to improving cybersecurity.

"The results of this survey tell us that many federal agencies may not have adequate staff and resources to manage security challenges in today's more complex and modernized IT environments, which in our view explains the feedback about modernization efforts exacerbating security challenges," said Puvvada. "To achieve successful digital transformation, agencies must make security a priority and embark on projects that enhance security at the core, as well as boost operational efficiency to meet mission-critical goals."

Here at Security Systems News, we feel also feel that cloud will continue to play an increasingly influential and disruptive role in security, transforming how we look at physical security in today's digital world. For others who share this view, or are just curious about the role of cloud in security today and in the future, SSN invites you to attend our Cloud+ conference, which is Nov. 28-29, 2017, in Austin, Texas. Click here for more on the education program and to register.