The findings of a recent survey, commissioned by NetIQ through IDG Connect, found that increased cloud-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) application use by businesses has led to more confidence amongIT decision-makers that corporate data is better secured now than it has been in the past.

1. Cloud Identity - Infographic
Compliance
Within the context of moving data and applications to the cloud, the vast majority of respondents
said that they expected few or no problems with respect to to legislative compliance. Most (58%)
were very confident that they could demonstrate compliance within the cloud and over one-third
(37%) were moderately confident. While levels of confidence in EMEA were slightly lower (45%
very confident, 47% moderately confident), this is likely to be a consequence of the stringency of
security and privacy legislation in some European countries.
in association with
Impact of mobile devices on SaaS applications
The impact of mobile devices on SaaS usage varies considerably across geographies, and may
mirror the adoption rates of BYOD (bring your own device) within corporations.
Impact of mobile devices on SaaS applications (globally)
The relationship between cloud and mobile devices is clearly a complex one, as different
organisations are adopting different strategies, based on their circumstances, business models
and processes. For example, a company seeing a large increase in SaaS along with mobile devices
use may be managing a major decrease in in-house infrastructure and taking the opportunity
to move applications and data into the cloud. On the other hand, the smaller proportion that
expects to see a decrease in SaaS applications might be taking the opportunity of its new mobile
platforms to cut back on lightly used services.
There is a strong belief among respondents that cloud-based applications can increase the security
of the organisation. Despite the concerns shown about migrating to the cloud, it is clear that
moving to an infrastructure that is not hosted in-house is seen as a better solution from a security
perspective.
15%75% 10%
Expected security impact of SaaS applications
SaaS applications have
increased business information
security
SaaS applications have
decreased business information
security
SaaS applications have had no
impact on business information
security
Cloud-based software services (SaaS) have had a huge impact on business globally, and growth
in the usage of SaaS has in turn been driven by other changes, especially the growth in the use of
mobile devices.
Growth and impact of cloud-based software services
96% say the number of SaaS
applications will grow by at
least 50% or more
75% say SaaS has
increased business
information security
53% say that mobile
device usage has increased
the usage of SaaS
53%
43%
21%
16%
10%
10%
Mobile devices are
driving a significant
increase in SaaS use
Mobile devices are
driving a slight decrease
in SaaS use
Mobile devices
are driving
a significant
decrease in SaaS
use
Mobile devices
are driving a
slight increase in
SaaS use
Mobile devices are
having no effect on
SaaS use
Mobile device deployment
means SaaS application usage
has grown by 67%
in North America
Mobile device deployment
means SaaS application usage
has grown by 51%
in EMEA
Mobile device deployment
means SaaS application usage
has grown by 38%
in APAC
Very confident that
they could demonstrate
regulatory compliance
Moderately confident
that they could
demonstrate regulatory
compliance
Not at all confident that
they could demonstrate
regulatory compliance
Concerns about cloud migration
Respondents were asked what their concerns were about moving to the cloud, and how strong
those concerns were. The top six issues about which respondents expressed any level of concern
when migrating to the cloud are:
Security/ confidentiality of customer information
Security of intellectual property or trade secrets
Security/confidentiality of employee information
Corporate (organizational) financial information
Security of e-mail communication
Business intelligence
93% 90% 90% 88% 88% 88%
75%
96%
58%
37%
5%
67
51
38