1 Apr, 2014

Study: Snowden’s Revelations Have Changed ICT Decision-Makers’ Behaviour Towards Cloud

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HONG KONG and TOKYO, Mar. 31 /Kyodo JBN/ — Almost nine tenths of ICT decision-makers are changing their cloud buying behaviour as a direct result of Edward Snowden’s allegations of large scale clandestine cyber-surveillance, a study published on March 31 by NTT Communications claims.

NSA Aftershocks: How Snowden has Changed IT Decision-Makers’ Approach to the Cloud is based on a survey of 1,000 ICT decision-makers from France, Germany, Hong Kong, United Kingdom and the USA. Says the study: “Businesses are concerned and they are acting decisively to protect their data by keeping it where they know it will be safe.

“This report paints a picture of ICT decision-makers who wish to protect their company’s data even if it means delaying cloud computing projects that could deliver them much-needed flexibility and performance gains. The report does make it clear that ICT decision-makers really want the best of both worlds. They want to guarantee the sovereignty of their data and reap the benefits of cloud computing. But they can only do so if they can specify exactly where and how their data is stored in the cloud.”

The study highlights nine after-shocks from Snowden’s revelations, which are compelling companies to rethink how they use cloud computing (click here to see the infographic):

1. Almost nine in ten (88 percent) ICT decision-makers are changing their cloud buying behaviour, with over one in three (38 percent) amending their procurement conditions for cloud providers.

2. Only 5 percent of respondents believe location does not matter when it comes to storing company data.

3. More than three in ten (31 percent) ICT decision-makers are moving data to locations where the business knows it will be safe.

4. Around six in ten (62 percent) of those not currently using cloud feel the revelations have prevented them from moving their ICT into the cloud.

5. ICT decision-makers now prefer buying a cloud service which is located in their own region, especially EU respondents (97 percent) and US respondents (92 percent).

6. Just over half (52 percent) are carrying out greater due diligence on cloud providers than ever before.

7. One in six (16 percent) is delaying or cancelling contracts with cloud service providers.

8. More than four fifths (84 percent) feel they need more training on data protection laws.

9. 82 percent of all ICT decision-makers globally agree with proposals by Angela Merkel for separating data networks.

Taylor Man, Executive Vice President, Cloud Business Division of NTT Com Asia Limited said, “The NSA allegation has had a broad impact on the ICT industry. Many companies are more conscious of the systems’ security and have changed how they manage their cloud security budgets (76% of all respondents, 73% of those from Hong Kong).

Our survey also found that, due to the NSA allegation, 71% of the Hong Kong respondents said they have taken a heightened interest in where their data is stored, the highest among all regions, and 59% would carry out greater due diligence than ever before i.e. closer scrutiny of cloud SLAs. 58% of Hong Kong respondents also said that they would spend more resources in auditing their cloud suppliers’ security credentials, compared to 67% worldwide.

“The survey also found that location of the services has become a major determinant. 69% of the Hong Kong respondents said they would feel most comfortable buying a cloud service offering from the Asia Pacific region, followed by North America (41%) and Europe (39%),” he added.

ICT Decision Makers Hardened Attitudes towards Cloud Adoption

Len Padilla, Vice President Product Strategy, NTT Communications in Europe, said, “Our findings show that the NSA allegations have hardened ICT decision-makers’ attitudes towards cloud computing, whether it is modifying procurement policies, scrutinising potential suppliers or taking a heightened interest in where their data is stored.”

He continued, “Despite the scandal and global security threat, business executives need to remember that cloud platforms do help firms become more agile, and do help foster technology innovation, even in the most risk-averse organisations. ICT decision-makers are working hard to find ways to retain those benefits and protect the organisation against being compromised in any way. There is optimism that the industry can solve these issues through restricting data movement and encryption of data.”

To download the report NSA AFTER-SHOCKS: HOW SNOWDEN HAS CHANGED IT DECISION-MAKERS’ APPROACH TO THE CLOUD visit www.nsaaftershocks.com

Methodology

NTT Communications commissioned market research firm Vanson Bourne to carry out an extensive survey of 1,000 IT decision-makers from the UK (200 respondents), France (200 respondents), Germany (200 respondents), Hong Kong (100 respondents), and the USA (300 respondents), in February and March 2014. Sixty percent of respondents were drawn from businesses with 1,000 employees or more, representing sectors including financial services, retail, manufacturing, professional services, IT, and energy.

About NTT Communications

NTT Communications provides consultancy, architecture, security and cloud services to optimize the information and communications technology (ICT) environments of enterprises. These offerings are backed by the company’s worldwide infrastructure, including leading global tier-1 IP network, Arcstar Universal One (TM) VPN network reaching over 190 countries, and over 150 secure data centers NTT Communications’ solutions leverage the global resources of NTT Group companies including Dimension Data, NTT DOCOMO and NTT DATA.

About NTT Com Asia

NTT Communications’ wholly owned subsidiary – NTT Com Asia serves as the regional headquarters of East Asia, covering Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and Korea. In collaboration with its affiliate HKNet, it provides enterprise-class global network, IP connectivity, data centre, cloud hosting, cloud applications and various services and solutions in the region.