2019, The Year Ahead in Cloud Security

January 02, 2019

By 2020, more than four-fifths of enterprise data will be cloud-based. This transition is happening even though the cloud is a relatively infant technology.

As the cloud explodes into ubiquity, black hat hackers, criminal organizations, and nation-states are adjusting their aim. Like parasites, they are targeting hosts with the healthiest, most substantial portions of data. They will soon compromise the cloud more than any other data stronghold.

In 2019, cloud security will confound organizations as concerns over data privacy, and the security skills gap pervade. But the cloud will come to its rescue.

Picking up the cloud security tab

According to Gartner, in 2019, global spending on cloud security will reach $459 million, up from $304 million in 2018. Gartner also predicts that subscription and managed services including Software-as-a-service (SaaS) will make up more than half of all security software delivered by 2020. The Gartner data aligns with figures from Bain & Company that confirm an increase in cloud services, including SaaS offerings.

Looking ahead, the cloud will prove to be the best solution to its security challenges. We will see more security solutions moving to the cloud to become more agile, extensible and scalable. As attackers are adjusting their aim, this is the type of security businesses will start to demand for their cloud data, applications, and users. Eventually, most security will be cloud-based and ultimately, cloud-based security will protect the cloud more often than all other approaches combined.

The Impact of the Cloud Security Skills Gap

There are number of factors influencing the progression toward cloud-based security including the market's response to the skills shortage. As more organizations consider migrating to the cloud, the cloud security skills gap is an area of concern for many. Because of this, we see a lot of companies outsourcing to the cloud to compensate for skills they lack in-house.

In 2019, enterprises will increasingly contract cloud-enabled security vendors to leverage the cloud and cloud security expertise to secure cloud environments.

Securing Cloud Workloads While Remaining Compliant

As more of an organizations data moves to the cloud, security and privacy will continue to press companies to find solutions that secure their cloud workloads and aid them in their compliance with privacy regulations. According to Crowd Research Partners, threats to data privacy are second on the list of the top three cloud security challenges - protecting against data loss/leakage and breaches of confidentiality are the first and third challenges, respectively.

It's no surprise that Europe's new GDPR will continue to create confusion for companies trying to figure out cloud security. Organizations will need the blessing of European citizens to compile and store their data in the cloud.

Spend wisely and follow the smart money. There will be a trend to invest in cloud-based security to mitigate cloud security fears.

About the Author: Peter Martini is president and co-founder of iboss. He has been awarded dozens of patents focused on network and mobile security, and with his brother, has been recognized by the industry with several prestigious awards, including, Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year and one of Goldman Sachs 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs.