Enterprises leave protection of cloud data to third-party providers

Businesses are increasingly moving their systems to the cloud, but 62 percent rely on the cloud provider to back up applications running on their platform.

New research from secure cloud services company CTERA Networks reveals that 67 percent of organizations deploy more than 25 percent of their applications in the cloud, and 37 percent plan to grow their cloud use by at least 25 percent, if not more. In addition, 54 percent of organizations are embracing a hybrid cloud strategy that uses both on-premises and cloud services.

However, 66 percent strongly or somewhat agree that there is less focus on backing up applications in the cloud due to a misconception that it's inherently resilient compared to on-premises applications.

As more enterprise applications move to the cloud and threats such as ransomware become more pervasive, business continuity is a critical factor. In fact for 39 percent of respondents it's the highest priority when backing up and protecting applications and data running in the cloud. In addition 71 percent of organizations cite data protection and availability as one of the biggest challenges when moving to the cloud.

The loss of data in the cloud would be more catastrophic than their data center crashing according to 36 percent of respondents, with 14 percent claiming it would cost them their jobs. The need to get a cloud strategy right therefore is vital.

"The enterprise's move beyond traditional data centers has rewritten the playbook for data protection in the cloud,' says Jeff Denworth, SVP marketing at CTERA. "As organizations adopt cloud and multi-cloud strategies, traditional backup tools fall down. Our research spotlights the key data protection considerations and challenges for enterprises as they look for simple, efficient and automated solutions that protect critical cloud-based applications".

You can find more information on the survey results on the CTERA blog.

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