Companies Prefer Private Cloud Storage for Data Security

Data is one of the most valuable assets a company can own, and keeping it secure remains one of the top priorities of internal IT departments. With the advent of cloud technology, however, maintaining security involves new IT challenges and sometimes unintended organizational complications.

According to a recent study from CTERA Networks, 31 percent of enterprise IT departments have experienced corporate data leakage in 2013 as a result of employees sharing files via often-unsanctioned file-sharing solutions services.

It’s a problem that’s likely to grow, with global business spending for infrastructure and services related to the cloud set to reach an estimated $174.2 billion, up 20 percent from the amount spent in 2013, according a separate study from IHS (News - Alert) Technology.

"Enterprises are seeking ways to capitalize on the benefits that cloud storage can provide, but not at the cost of losing control of their data. The market is flooded with SaaS offerings, but solutions that can scale on private and hybrid clouds are in short supply," said Rani Osnat, vice president of strategic marketing & customer experience at CTERA, cloud storage services platform provider.

To prevent data leakage, 55 percent of organizations with 30,000 employees or more expressly forbid the usage of software-as-a-service (SaaS (News - Alert)) file-sharing solutions, according to CTERA. Also, when given the choice, 63 percent of enterprises prefer private cloud storage solutions over public offerings like Dropbox (News - Alert) because of data security concerns.

"This independent research validates what we have been hearing from our customers: a clear preference for a platform they can manage and run using the infrastructure of their choice, with both enterprise-grade security and compelling end-user experience," Osnat continued. 

The CTERA research also found 25 percent of organizations have already implemented private cloud file synchronization and sharing tools, while 20 percent of organizations have implemented cloud storage gateways. Another 45 percent of organizations are considering private cloud file synchronization and sharing tools, while 38 percent of organizations are considering implementing cloud storage gateways.

CTERA's 2014 Enterprise Cloud Storage Report is a research study of 200 IT professionals conducted in early 2014 by independent panel research firm Research Now. The report can be downloaded here.