Cloud security and compliance are still the issues that concern IT staff the most, according to a new survey
The study, carried out by network performance monitoring company Network Instruments, found that the top cloud challenge is the security of corporate data, cited by 74 per cent of the 163 respondents surveyed. Other concerns while still significant were far behind.
The lack of being able to monitor the end-user experience was mentioned by 37 per cent of respondents, followed by compliance issues (33 per cent), the impact on network bandwidth (32 per cent), cost increases (29 per cent) and a lack of interoperability standards (25 per cent).
When quizzed about their ability to monitor cloud services, only 20 per cent reported an improvement while 22 per cent saw deterioration, and most found no change. Finally, when asked to rate their ability to troubleshoot difficulties with their cloud service, 28 per cent reported it got worse, 55 per cent reported no difference and 17 per cent saw an improvement.
Respondents were queried on how cloud computing affected overall performance based on four criteria, most spotted little difference in cloud versus on-premise and, in some cases, performance declined. When questioned about cloud service availability, most reported no difference and 33 per cent recorded an improvement while only 8 per cent saw a decline. On the quality of the end-user experience, 25 per cent observed an improvement and only 12 per cent saw a decline.
Unsurprisingly, the research found that the most popular method of cloud computing is SaaS, which is used by 67 per cent, trailed by private cloud computing (49 per cent), IaaS (32 per cent), and PaaS (15 per cent).
"While IT teams embrace cloud services as a way to increase cost savings and business flexibility, these technologies introduce new components and environments which make ensuring positive end-user experience all the more challenging," said Brad Reinboldt, senior product manager of Network Instruments. "The reported lack of monitoring tools, quality metrics, and visibility create serious obstacles that prevent IT from effectively managing performance and jeopardise costly technology investments."
The results were based on responses by network engineers, IT directors, and CIOs in North America, Asia, Europe, Africa, Australia, and South America.
