A recent study conducted by NetApp of about 750 European IOC investigated the attitudes and practices in the field of cloud, security and alignment to the general EU rules on data protection (GDPR).

In particular, on the face of the cloud, it is evident that the hybrid model is the preferred, since over 60% of respondents said they have entrusted to a combination of private and public infrastructure. Over half of the sample indicated that security is the main driver for adoption and this shows that confidence in providers is growing. In addition, there is a rather obvious convergence towards using the cloud for storage and backup.

The IOC involved have indicated, in 26% of cases, to prefer choosing a local partner. The so-called hyperscalers or the global systems integrators are less popular, having picked up between 17 to 18% of preferences. Only 3% said they did not make use of cloud services. The flexibility and cost savings are the two main reasons cited for choosing the cloud. Ease of use and data protection are other reasons for a possible partial or total migration.

Finally, the GDPR is a heartfelt challenge. The majority of the sample to be probed NetApp said they had a good or very good understanding of the regulation which will become effective on May 25, 2018. The total lack of knowledge is indicated by a percentage below 10%.