Security is the top consideration for Asian businesses when choosing their cloud strategy and cloud vendors according to a survey commissioned by Alibaba Cloud, the digital technology and intelligence backbone of Alibaba Group.
“The Next-Generation Cloud Strategy in Asia” survey obtained responses from 1,000 organizations across eight markets in Asia that are currently using cloud. Respondents listed security as the top reason for choosing their current strategy (private cloud: 74%; hybrid cloud: 70%; public cloud: 58%).
In choosing their cloud vendors, more than two-thirds (69%) of all respondents stated that security is the most important consideration, outweighing other factors such as availability (58%) and cost (55%).
The emphasis on security in cloud vendor selection is consistent across markets and industries, especially for the Philippines (85%), Indonesia (82%) and Thailand (78%), and for sectors such as Manufacturing, Media & Telecommunications and Financial Services. In the previous survey released in 2021, “security credentials” was also identified as the top reason for choosing cloud vendors by a majority (58%) of respondents.
Beyond security, insufficient training for employees (private cloud: 42%; public cloud: 37%) and lack of budget (private cloud: 36%; public cloud: 36%) are the other major barriers businesses experience when implementing an effective cloud strategy.
Alibaba Cloud commissioned global market research firm NielsenIQ to conduct the survey, with an aim to better understand the state of adoption of the prevailing cloud strategies across Asia.
Unlocking operational efficiency through cloud adoption
Respondents, regardless of the type of strategy adopted, quoted “improved operational efficiency” as the biggest benefit of cloud adoption (hybrid cloud: 71%; public cloud: 62% and private cloud: 60%).
Public cloud users also see improved business continuity (47%), better support for remote workers (45%) and improved security and risk management (44%) as the other benefits of adopting the cloud.
Asia-based cloud vendors exceed user expectations
The survey showed that, the largest share of businesses (38%) are using regional/Asia-based vendors. In an improvement from the previous survey, an overwhelming majority (91%) of businesses reported that their experience in using cloud services either met or exceeded their expectations, demonstrating the high quality of cloud services available in Asia.
In Thailand, a notably high percentage of businesses (64%) have opted for regional/Asia-based vendors, while in South Korea, a larger share of respondents (56%) use local vendors.
In terms of industry, businesses in the Manufacturing (42%) tend to use regional/Asia-based vendors while a higher percentage of respondents in the Retail (45%) and Public Sector (45%) favor local vendors.
