NSA Revelations Have Changed ICT Decision-makers' Behaviour towards Cloud
Report Highlights Nine Major After-shocks Compelling Organisations to Think Again about How They Use Cloud Computing -
Almost nine tenths of ICT decision-makers are changing their cloud (
http://www.hk.ntt.com/en/products/services-in-hong-kong/enterprise-hosting/cloud-hosting.html) buying behaviour as a
direct result of Edward Snowden's allegations of large scale clandestine cyber-surveillance, a study published on March
31 by NTT Communications (http://www.hk.ntt.com/en/index.html) claims.
NSA Aftershocks: How Snowden has Changed IT Decision-Makers' Approach to the Cloud is based on a survey of 1,000 ICT
decision-makers from France, Germany, Hong Kong, Uni ted Kingdom and the USA. The study highlights nine after-shocks
from Snowden's revelations, which are compelling companies to rethink how they use cloud computing:
1. Almost nine in ten (88 percent) ICT decision-makers are changing their cloud buying behaviour, with over one in three
(38 percent) amending their procurement conditions for cloud providers
2. Only 5 percent of respondents believe location does not matter when it comes to storing company data
3. More than three in ten (31 percent) ICT decision-makers are moving data to locations where the business knows it will
be safe
4. Around six in ten (62 percent) of those not currently using cloud feel the revelations have prevented them from
moving their ICT into the cloud
5. ICT decision-makers now prefer buying a cloud service which is located in their own region, especially EU respondents
(97 percent) and US respondents ; (92 percent)
6. Just over half (52 percent) are carrying out greater due diligence on cloud providers than ever before
7. One in six (16 percent) is delaying or cancelling contracts with cloud service providers
8. More than four fifths (84 percent) feel they need more training on data protection laws
9. 82 percent of all ICT decision-makers globally agree with proposals by Angela Merkel for separating data networks
Hong Kong Companies More Conscious of Security after NSA Allegation Taylor Man, Executive Vice President, Cloud Business
Division of NTT Com Asia Limited (http://www.hk.ntt.com/en/about-us/our-company/about-ntt-com-asia.html) said, "The NSA
allegation has had a broad impact on the ICT industry. Many companies are more conscious of the systems' s ecurity and
have changed how they manage their cloud security budgets (76% of all respondents, 73% of those from Hong Kong). Our
survey also found that, due to the NSA allegation, 71% of the Hong Kong respondents said they have taken a heightened
interest in where their data is stored, the highest among all regions, and 59% would carry out greater due diligence
than ever before i.e. closer scrutiny of cloud SLAs. 58% of Hong Kong respondents also said that they would spend more
resources in auditing their cloud suppliers' security credentials, compared to 67% worldwide."
"The survey also found that location of the services has become a major determinant. 69% of the Hong Kong respondents
said they would feel most comfortable buying a cloud service offering from the Asia Pacific region, followed by North
America (41%) and Europe (39%)," he added.
ICT Decision Makers Hardened Attitudes towards Cloud Adoption Len Padilla, Vice President Product Strategy, NTT
Communica tions in Europe, said, "Our findings show that the NSA allegations have hardened ICT decision-makers'
attitudes towards cloud computing, whether it is modifying procurement policies, scrutinising potential suppliers or
taking a heightened interest in where their data is stored."
He continued, "Despite the scandal and global security threat, business executives need to remember that cloud platforms
do help firms become more agile, and do help foster technology innovation, even in the most risk-averse organisations.
ICT decision-makers are working hard to find ways to retain those benefits and protect the organisation against being
compromised in any way. There is optimism that the industry can solve these issues through restricting data movement and
encryption of data."
To download the report NSA AFTER-SHOCKS: HOW SNOWDEN HAS CHANGED IT DECISION-MAKERS' APPROACH TO THE CLOUD visit
www.nsaaftershocks.com
Methodology NTT Communications commissioned market research firm Vanson Bourne to carry out an extensive survey of 1,000
IT decision-makers from the UK (200 respondents), France (200 respondents), Germany (200 respondents), Hong Kong (100
respondents), and the USA (300 respondents), in February and March 2014. Sixty percent of respondents were drawn from
businesses with 1,000 employees or more, representing sectors including financial services, retail, manufacturing,
professional services, IT, and energy.
About NTT Communications NTT Communications provides consultancy, architecture, security and cloud services to optimize
the information and communications technology (ICT) environments of enterprises. These offerings are backed by the
company's worldwide infrastructure, including leading global tier-1 IP network, Arcstar Universal One (TM) VPN network
reaching over 190 countries, and over 150 secure da ta centers NTT Communications' solutions leverage the global
resources of NTT Group companies including Dimension Data, NTT DOCOMO and NTT DATA.
About NTT Com Asia NTT Communications' wholly owned subsidiary - NTT Com Asia serves as the regional headquarters of
East Asia, covering Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and Korea. In collaboration with its affiliate HKNet, it provides
enterprise-class global network, IP connectivity, data centre, cloud hosting, cloud applications and various services
and solutions in the region.