Veritas Study: Alarming Majority of Organizations (69%) Export Full Responsibility for Data Protection, Privacy and Compliance onto Cloud Service Providers

Singapore, October
31, 2017 —  Veritas
Technologies, a leader in multi-cloud data management, today
announced the results of a global survey spanning thirteen countries indicating
that the majority of global organizations (56 percent) operate with a
cloud-first mentality when it comes to deploying new applications and managing
workloads. In Singapore, the number is significantly less, with 47 percent
indicating that their organizations operate in the same manner. Only one percent
of organizations globally reported that they will not be adopting cloud over
the next two years. However, the study reveals that significant misconceptions
exist on the responsibility for data management, with 69 percent of
organizations wrongfully believing data protection, data privacy and
compliance are the responsibility of the cloud service provider. In Singapore,
77 percent share a similar sentiment.

The Truth in Cloud study, commissioned by
Veritas and conducted by Vanson Bourne, surveyed 1,200 (with 100 respondents
from Singapore) global business and IT decision makers revealed that customers
are embracing the multi-cloud as a key component of their business strategies.
Within the survey, customers indicated they use a variety of cloud service
providers, including public clouds and hosted private clouds. With respect to Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
specifically, over two-thirds (67 percent) of organizations globally state they
use, or plan to use, two or more cloud providers. In Singapore , seven out of
ten (71 percent) share the same sentiment.  42 percent (both globally and
locally) say they are using, or plan to use, three or more cloud providers,
with common goals of improving resiliency and data security as well as reducing
capital expenditures (Capex) and operating expenses (Opex).

As customers embrace the cloud, the research
explores three key areas of focus: misconceptions of data management in the
public cloud, rise in multi-cloud adoption and future cloud trends.

Although organizations are adopting a
multi-cloud approach, the research shows that when it comes to public clouds
specifically, there are likely misconceptions around which party holds the
ultimate responsibility for data management: the customer or the cloud provider.

Key findings include:

·  More than eight in ten (83 percent) of organizations that use or plan to use IaaS believe that their
cloud service provider takes care of protecting their data in the cloud.
Locally the figure sits at 86 percent.

·  More than two-thirds (69 percent) of respondents believe
they can place all responsibility for data protection, data privacy and
compliance on cloud service providers. In Singapore, the number sits at 77
percent.

·  Over half (54 percent) of organizations believe
it is the responsibility of the cloud service provider to securely transfer
data between on-premises and cloud. The number is slightly higher for Singapore
at 58 percent.

·  Over half (51 percent) believe it is the
responsibility of the cloud service provider to back up workloads in the cloud.
In Singapore, the respondents have similar sentiments (56 percent).

More than one in two (55 per cent) of
organizations also believe that application uptime is the responsibility of the
cloud provider. In Singapore, we have close to three out of four (73 percent)
respondents believing that this responsibility lies with the cloud provider.

“Our legal teams reviewed contracts from
multiple public cloud service providers to help Veritas understand what
customers and cloud service providers are res  ponsible for with respect
to data management in the public cloud,” said Mike Palmer, executive vice
president and chief product officer, Veritas.

“Despite customers’ belief that cloud providers
hold the responsibility of data management, cloud service provider contracts
usually place data management responsibility on customers. Our research backed
up our assumptions that the primary responsibility for data management lies
with the customer,” Palmer added. “Veritas fully embraces a multi-cloud
approach and is partnering with many leading cloud service providers to help
customers manage and extract maximum value from  their applications and
data.”

The Truth in Cloud research
also shows that on average, organizations are using , or plan to use, multiple
cloud platforms, ranging from public clouds to hosted private clouds. However,
many organizations continue to face challenges getting to the cloud regardless
of whether it is a public cloud or a hosted private cloud. At the same time,
local organizations seem to be struggling more than their global counterparts.
The common barriers are:

·         Complexity with cloud migration (37 percent
globally, 54 percent locally)

·         Legacy technology limitations (36 percent
globally, 58 percent locally).

·         Lack of in-house skills (38 percent globally, 42
percent locally).

·         Lack of a clear strategy (32 percent globally,
40 percent locally).

·         Data silos (27 percent globally, 42 locally).

Currently, 75 percent (80 percent locally) of
organizations work with an IaaS public cloud provider and surprisingly, 16
percent of respondents say that they use, or plan to use, five or more cloud
providers. This number is higher in Singapore, with 22 percent of organizations
making the same claim. Respondents stated that data privacy, security and
compliance, workload performance and uptime are the top deciding factors
impacting cloud provider selection.

According to the study, IT spending on cloud
technologies, including public cloud providers, is expected to rise from 12
percent in 2017 to 18 percent within the next two years. In Singapore,
this number is expected to jump from  11 percent to  17 percent. The
trend is likely to continue and increase, as more than half – 58 percent
globally and 55 percent locally –  of organizations that currently use one
cloud provider indicate they plan to expand their portfolio across multiple
cloud platforms.

“As more companies embrace a cloud-first
mentality, the need to navigate the complexities of a multi-cloud world is
critical. As with on-premises environments, customers should consider all
aspects of data management as they journey to the cloud, from data protection,
compliance readiness, and workload portability to business continuity and
storage optimization,” added Palmer.

Find out how your organization can achieve more
with multi-cloud data management by visiting the Veritas cloud solutions page, blog and video blog.

Vanson
Bourne is an independent specialist in market research for the technology
sector. For more information, visit www.vansonbourne.com

Veritas Technologies empowers businesses of all
sizes to discover the truth in information—their most important digital asset.
Using the Veritas platform, customers can accelerate their digital
transformation and solve pressing IT and business challenges including
multi-cloud data management, data protection, storage optimisation, compliance
readiness and workload portability—with no cloud vendor lock-in. Eighty-six
percent of Fortune 500 companies rely on Veritas today to reveal data insights
that drive competitive advantage. Learn more at veritas.com or follow us on Twitter at @veritastechllc.