Many SMBs aren't seeing security as a priority, for some reason

A person at a laptop with a secure lock symbol floating above it.
(Image credit: Shutterstock / laymanzoom)

For a third of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) thinking about migrating their infrastructure to the cloud, security is not a strategic priority, new research has claimed.

A new Amazon Web Services report surveying more than 800 C-suite executives, vice presidents, and directors, from global SMBs, discovered ober a third (35%) won’t be prioritizing security in their cloud migration efforts. 

Why? There are a number of reasons. The biggest one is that the respondents see it as an added cost and not a growth enabler. This way of thinking, AWS argues, is because 41% haven’t delivered any security training, and just 43% plan on doing so in the next 12 months. Another reason is that half (50%) of the respondents were worried about data in the cloud not being as secure as it is on on-prem endpoints. Finally, the respondents are under the impression they would need a large IT team and plenty of resources to keep their cloud premises secure. Four in ten believe it’s too difficult to find the right staff for the job, too.

Cloud security drives revenue?

Amazon, on the other hand, claims investing in cloud security is a revenue, growth, and customer driver, as it mitigates all kinds of risks and minimizes potential downtime. The company that sells cloud services claims securing these premises doesn’t require a large team, or a huge pile of money, as there are plenty of automated solutions that can keep the business safe and compliant, without burning a hole in their wallet. 

In fact, for AWS - maintaining the security of on-prem infrastructure is more complex, takes more time, and is an overall more difficult thing to achieve.

In its writeup, Infosecurity Magazine added that there are “legitimate security considerations” for those looking to migrate to the cloud, such as the shared responsibility model, as well as increasing complexity, particularly in hybrid cloud environments.

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Sead is a seasoned freelance journalist based in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. He writes about IT (cloud, IoT, 5G, VPN) and cybersecurity (ransomware, data breaches, laws and regulations). In his career, spanning more than a decade, he’s written for numerous media outlets, including Al Jazeera Balkans. He’s also held several modules on content writing for Represent Communications.

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