TORONTO – Concerns over data security and a limited knowledge of cloud computing are putting Canada's economic competitiveness at risk, according to a Telus and IDC Canada study released Thursday.
The study, commissioned by Telus, found that 71% of Canadian businesses are not open to alternative IT delivery models that may bring new levels of productivity and enhanced customer service to their organizations. Security was found to be the top concern and barrier to cloud deployment, with business leaders saying that their own organizations do a better job of securing data than cloud providers.
In addition, when it comes to their overall knowledge of cloud computing, 63% of Canadian companies say they do not have enough, or only a base level of, knowledge to make decisions on whether to use a cloud service or their internal IT department.
"According to the study, productivity improvement is the number one driver among business and IT leaders in large Canadian organizations, so technology investments such as cloud computing should make good, logical business sense," said Tony Krueck, Telus’ VP of business products and services, in the report’s news release. "By helping our customers harness the power of either public or private cloud services that are secure and reliable as well as hosted, managed and delivered in Canada, Telus is enhancing their productivity and helping transform their IT departments from executing the tactical to performing at the strategic level."
The study surveyed 200 Canadian business and IT executives and directors at large Canadian companies (500+ employees) across a range of industry sectors.
