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Small to medium businesses in ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) are certainly on the cloud bandwagon – but it’s a stretch to say they are confident about its capabilities.
That was the overall finding from research conducted by Data & Storage Asean and commissioned by Barracuda Networks. The survey, which polled 130 IT professionals from small businesses in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore, found 73% of respondents argued their data was safer under their own control rather than in the cloud. A similar percentage (71%) said they would not be likely to adopt a cloud-first strategy.
Where there was near certainty in some aspects, there was indecision in others. 42%, a majority, said they believe cloud providers adequately protect and secure their data, compared to 26% for no and 36% for ‘don’t know’, while more than two thirds (68%) say they had no defined preference over the type of cloud they were looking to implement. For those who did know what they wanted, backup and DR (9%) was the most popular.
Despite this, in terms of security backup and DR was perceived as the major concern, cited by 28% of respondents. Security in general (26%) had similar figures, while more than a quarter of respondents said they were unsure.
The survey results may indicate a certain lack of cloud maturity in south east Asia, although the most recent figures from the Asia Cloud Computing Association (ACCA) found Singapore to be the second most cloud-enabled major Asia Pacific nation, only behind Hong Kong. Indonesia (#11), Malaysia (#8), and the Philippines (#9) fared less well out of the 14 countries analysed.
“Our key conclusion is that IT professionals from SME companies around ASEAN have made first steps into cloud, but are doing so in [a] tactical rather than [a] strategic manner,” the report notes. “There is still uncertainty about which cloud use case to adopt, and also a significant uncertainty around data security and protection as IT is moved to cloud.
“We see a need for more education and guidance to help assist SMEs in this region truly harness the full potential of incorporating cloud into their IT strategy,” the researchers added.
You can read the full report here.
