Cloud Security Will Surpass Private Data Centers: 2017 Prediction #1

Recently, Digital Realty published a list of IT predictions for 2017. We will see rapid growth of some technologies, and the inevitable decline of others. We believe that increasingly companies of all sizes will have the means available to them to develop and implement IT strategies that have the capacity to level the playing field or provide distinct technological and analytical advantages.

The first, and arguably most impactful, factor in these transformations will be that advancements in cloud security will finally eclipse those of the private data center, making the seemingly age-old question of cloud vs. data center virtually obsolete.

We believe security measures for most major clouds are already exceeding those in private data centers. Why? Let’s consider it from the simplest angle.

In today’s landscape, all of the major enterprises are flocking to the cloud, migrating legacy workloads from their existing data centers one by one. Which is a more attractive target for hackers: the private data center that stores data for one single business, or a cloud service used by a veritable cornucopia of businesses

For cloud providers, the stakes are high. Because of this fact, security is the cloud provider’s number one priority today. The storage part of cloud is automatic. So, providers’ reputations today depend primarily on security. That’s why they invest so heavily in the newest and most robust security solutions available. When it comes to security, no single enterprise cloud user has more to lose than the cloud provider themselves.

2017 may not be the year we finally hear the death knell of the private data center, but we expect its prominence will continue to wane. They will survive in certain unique environments, but generally, IT organizations will ‘follow the leader,’ toward a heavier reliance on cloud.

Want to go further in depth on Digital Realty’s predictions for 2017? We’ll be continuing to publish blogs on each individual prediction, so check back soon!