The cloud has also established itself in this country. But the DSGVO is driving companies around with high security requirements. Meanwhile, scepticism about the public cloud is declining.
Cloud use in Germany
Cloud refuseniks: Only 13 percent of German companies are still cloud computing. The data warehouse is not migrating to the cloud. You can read more about dedicated cloud server at www.Digitalnibbles.com/dedicated-cloud-server/.
Cloud use in German companies is stagnating at a high level. Last year, two thirds relied on computing power from the cloud, and 65 percent had already done so in 2016. This is the result of the latest issue of the Cloud Monitor, for which KPMG and the digital association Bitkom annually analyze cloud usage in German companies. What has changed is the scepticism towards the public cloud. While public cloud was still not an issue for 55 percent of companies in 2016, this rate dropped to 42 percent in 2017. Nevertheless, the majority of companies that use public cloud solutions continue to use them only for non-critical applications. The most frequently mentioned hurdles include the fear of data loss, ambiguities in the legal situation and the concern that unauthorized persons may gain access to company data.
Requirements for Cloud Providers
Conformity with the DSGVO is a standard requirement for cloud service providers. According to Cloud Monitor 2018, 68 percent of companies also insist that cloud servers are exclusively located in Germany.
The fact that fewer and fewer companies want to commit themselves firmly to a provider – keyword: vendor lock-in – is shown by the fact that 79 percent consider a contractually regulated exit strategy to be indispensable.
The topic SecurityCloud Security reinvents itself is of course similarly important. 83 percent of German companies expect a transparent security architecture and transparency in security controls. And for 62 percent, direct access to security protocols is important.
But when it comes to checking existing contractual relationships with cloud providers for compliance with the basic data protection regulation, German companies are still negligent. By the end of last year, just one in five had checked whether their cloud service providers were acting in accordance with the DSGVO.
Safety as a key factor
In times of increasingly frequent cyber attacks, security is the main concern of companies when using the cloud. What the Cloud Monitor 2018 shows: Data security incidents affect both internal IT and public cloudCloud Security is reinventing itself – but internal IT systems are more frequently affected.
Three out of ten companies report incidents in their own IT during the past twelve months, a further 27 percent have registered suspicious cases. By way of comparison, only one in four companies reports security incidents in connection with cloud use, and only just under one in five companies suspected such incidents.
However, it cannot be deduced from this that CloudCloud Security reinvents itself to be more secure per se. It should be noted that the public cloud usually contains only non-critical company data. In addition, cloud users usually only hear about incidents if the cloud service provider informs them of them. The topic of security remains highly topical – regardless of where the data is stored.
Security in the public cloud
- Public Cloud: Most companies find it difficult to protect their data in the public cloud.
- However, most companies that use public cloud solutions report that it is much more difficult to protect data here than on their own network. At least a quarter of companies disagree: they find it easier to secure their data in the public cloud than with their own IT.
- Accordingly, it is not surprising that 56 percent of the companies surveyed (more than half) regularly or ad hoc check whether unauthorized use of the public cloud has occurred in the company. For this purpose, 62 percent evaluate their firewall log files, 53 percent rely on software to control their public cloud services.
Conclusion & outlook
The cloud has become commonplace in most local businesses. From small and medium-sized businesses to international corporations – almost all companies have understood the principle and advantages of cloud computing. Even the public cloud, which has long been viewed critically, is establishing itself, not least because of its cost advantages.
Although IT departments and business leaders are concerned about the use of the cloud, the majority of employees are not necessarily aware of the difference between internal IT and the cloud. For example, half of companies assume that their employees can’t tell where they’re working. For large companies with more than 2,000 employees, 61 percent do not notice the difference – which is probably mainly due to their complex IT infrastructures.
Cloud monitor at a glance
Since 2011, the Cloud Monitor has been investigating the developments and changes in cloud use by German companies and the demands placed on cloud providers on an annual basis. The 2018 Report focuses on cloud security – what experience have companies had with data security in the cloud and what measures and security concepts are used?
The report is prepared by Bitkom Research, a subsidiary of the digital association Bitkom, on behalf of the business consulting firm KPMG. Between November and December 2017, around 560 executives from the IT sector or members of the management or executive board of companies with at least 20 employees in Germany were surveyed for this year’s Cloud Monitor.