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Posted on October 10th, 2012 in Cloud Computing, Current News by Simply Security | Be the first to comment | Tags: cloud computing, Current News

Companies are starting to see some strong returns from their cloud computing efforts.

Even though cloud security is still a pressing concern for many companies exploring the potential of the technology, a recent study by Navigant shows that CIOs of Fortune 500 companies all seem fairly happy with the cloud. In order for the industry to see more dynamic returns in the coming years, providers and prospects will need to come to a better understanding on security and business departments will likely need better assurances that their cloud computing solutions are secure.

"Nine out of 10 respondents, for example, say they have received 100 percent of the savings they expected from their cloud computing projects," Joe McKendrick, independent researcher and Forbes contributor, noted in assessment of the findings. "In addition, four out of five say their cloud efforts have helped their organizations achieve some sort of competitive advantage, and two-thirds say cloud has helped their organization’s efficiency and effectiveness."

The round table study by Navigant certainly has some interesting numbers. About half of the companies in this survey said they have already dedicated part of their budget to a cloud computing solution. Robert Summers, CIO of tax preparation firm Jackson Hewitt, told Forbes that many organizations are regarding the cloud expenses as research and development. It is still being figured out by many of these companies how they can best use the cloud and keep up with data protection efforts.

Security, of course, is one of the big things keeping CIOs out of the cloud.

“Despite highly advanced security and fraud countermeasures employed by cloud vendors, CIOs and other executives regard security guarantees and redundancy policies with guarded pessimism," Summers said, according to the Forbes story. “The security seems to be there today; it will become less of an issue, but people want to see it.”

While these CIOs don't exactly see security in the cloud as the most security-friendly technology, there are some great ways to make sure that cloud security is in place no matter what. Infosecurity Magazine said automation as well as policy creation and enforcement can be great tools to make sure the cloud remains an asset to operations. The website said once automation is introduced to a company, securing the remaining aspects of the cloud comes down to creating a policy, managing those who use the cloud and enforcing the rules. If these aspects are in place, companies will likely have much better security in the cloud.

Cloud Computing News from SimplySecurity.com by Trend Micro.