Adopting new technology is a risk the majority of companies wish to avoid, according to a new study.
Research conducted by cloud backup company Mozy suggests that one-third of new projects are blocked by management fearful of the risks they associate with cutting-edge tech such as cloud.
The survey of 550 IT decision makers and 1,250 office workers also found that half believe IT department red tape is strangling innovation in their companies.
Nearly 40% of IT decision makers also said management was sceptical about the cloud, and Mozy claims that with 90% of respondents believing the cloud could be safer, there is a gap between perception and reality, with the technology widely available to make the cloud a secure space.
CBR speaks to Mozy senior marketing manager Claire Galbois-Alcaix about how companies should stop worrying and learn to love the cloud – and how many still have their heads in the sand about mobile working.
The need to backup mobile data
"The amount of data people are carrying around is increasing," says Galbois-Alcaix. "There are opportunities to lose that informationtoo, whether it’s personal or business.
"Being able to work whenever and wherever you need to is a real benefit. But working on the go can make your data vulnerable.
"If they haven’t taken active steps to protect the data then they’re putting that data at risk.
"One of the key challenges for employers is the fact that users are more likely to go ahead now and find a way to use their own device to access company data."
However, many businesses are not adapting to employees’ desire to work remotely, and their IT security and data backup solutions reflect this, she adds.
"Those that have a back up strategy often won’t contain a solution for remote users," explains Galbois-Alcaix, "and that’s where there’s a big chance for businesses to step up and protect data that’s contained on laptops because more employees are using those devices nowadays."
Outsourcing
A separate survey commissioned by CA Technologies earlier this month found that companies are avoiding the cloud due to a lack of security skills.
More than 40% of UK firms are avoiding cloud-based services or attempting to block them completely, found QuoCirca, the UK analyst.
Two-thirds felt they lack the skills and 72% the resources necessary to secure cloud services.
But Galbois-Alcaix argues that outsourcing the job to someone else is a cost-effective way for SMBs to take advantage of the cloud without asking too much of their own IT staff.
"Cloud backup solutions are very secure and simple to put in place," she says. "It starts from a few Euros a month. That’s 10GB of data. There’s really no excuse for not considering a robust way of protecting your business."
That means a worker’s data remains securely backed up even if they lose their device, by synchronising it with the cloud every time they connect to the internet, or at a fixed time each day.
Synchronisation
Synchronisation is something that the marketing manager believes will become a focus in the cloud backup market.
With many people now owning multiple devices – smartphones, tablets and laptops – it would be a boost for mobile workers if they were able easily to work on one device then continue that work seamlessly on another.
"They can put all the data they use on a daily basis on one cloud account and that synchronises that folder to other mobile devices," says Galbois-Alcaix.
"If the latest version of your presentation is on your tablet and you get back to the office and want to access it on your laptop, it’s the version of the work you’d just completed on your tablet."
