7 in 10 business are likely to move to cloud despite two thirds of IT leaders fearing security risks

In the coming years, seven out of 10 (71%) organisation are likely to move more of their business functions to the cloud, according to a recent report from Equinix Inc.

Surveying over 1,200 senior IT professionals across Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), the report noted that whilst more businesses are moving to the cloud, 70% of the same respondents perceive there to be cybersecurity risks around cloud adoption.

Worried about recent data breaches, the survey also highlighted how 45% of respondents say that improving their organisation’s cybersecurity is their biggest IT priority.

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Eric Schwartz, President EMEA at Equinix, said that the results reveal a “huge shift towards cloud” as businesses across EMEA prepare to compete in a digital economy.

He added: “Cybersecurity risks and breaches are of course a matter for close attention but must not prevent businesses from undergoing digital transformation.

“Hybrid and multi-cloud models are essential for today’s era of globalised coopetition. That’s why organisations come to Equinix – we can connect them directly to cloud service providers, allowing them to transmit data over dedicated, private networks instead of over the public Internet.

“This private exchange of data, or interconnection, reduces the risk of workloads being intercepted, monitored and modified, allaying security concerns.

"This is perhaps why over three quarters (77%) of the IT professionals across EMEA believe interconnection will help their business gain a competitive advantage in the market place of the future.” 

Notably, the report also underlined how, despite Brexit, 64% of senior IT decision-makers in the UK believe that the country is the best place in Europe to interconnect with partners, customers, supply chain and cloud service providers thanks to its flourishing data centre industry.

Commenting on the results, Russell Poole, Managing Director UK at Equinix, added: “With so many UK businesses planning a move to the cloud in the near future, and at a faster rate than businesses across EMEA, it is clear that the UK is at the forefront of EMEA’s digital economy.

“That 64% of the UK’s IT leaders believe that the UK is still the best place in Europe to interconnect with partners, customers and CSPs due to the UK’s flourishing data centre industry, despite political uncertainty, is testament to the resilience of the UK’s digital infrastructure.

“Last week’s announcement of Equinix’s new £90M LD7 data centre at our London Slough campus, highlights our confidence that London will remain a leader in the global digital economy.”