Intelligent CIO Africa Issue 26 | Page 17

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// TRENDING EQUINIX STUDY REVEALS FURTHER SHIFT TO THE CLOUD DESPITE SECURITY CONCERNS An independent study conducted by Equinix of more than 1,200 senior IT professionals across EMEA highlights the contrast around cloud adoption. E quinix, a leading global interconnection and data centre company, has announced the findings of an independent survey of more than 1,200 senior IT professionals from across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. around cloud adoption. Large public data breaches have caused uncertainty among companies, leading to 45% of respondents focusing on improving their organisation’s cybersecurity as their biggest IT priority. Results show that 71% of organisations are likely to move more of their business functions to the cloud in the coming years. A total of 60% of EMEA IT leaders cite proximity to cloud service providers (CSPs) as an integral factor when choosing a data centre in their local market. Cloud and cybersecurity considerations are top of the mind for IT executives across the region. For nearly half (48%) of the those surveyed, the adoption of cloud-based services represented one of the top two factors that will impact their business in the future – second only to cybersecurity risks and breaches (53%). Despite more businesses moving to the cloud, 70% of these same respondents still perceive there to be cybersecurity risks The results also showed that companies across EMEA are twice as likely to connect with CSPs than any other product or service provider. www.intelligentcio.com “ CLOUD AND CYBERSECURITY CONSIDERATIONS ARE THE TOP OF MIND FOR IT EXECUTIVES ACROSS THE REGION. INTELLIGENTCIO 17