78% of organisations highly concerned about cloud security, finds 2024 Cloud Security Report

Gary Peel

As organisations develop and deploy more cloud applications, security becomes more complicated.

Many organisations are adopting a hybrid or multi-cloud approach, which has expanded the attack surface and increased complexity. Security teams often struggle to manage and secure their various private and public cloud workloads and environments. And even though multi-cloud adoption has many benefits, dealing with multiple tools adds management complexity, making it difficult or impossible to apply consistent security policies across all cloud environments.

Worse, the level of security complexity often grows over time as organisations continue to add cloud services, leading to even more management challenges and costs.

The 2024 Cloud Security Report was conducted by Cybersecurity Insiders and sponsored by Fortinet to gain insights into the challenges organisations face in protecting their cloud environments and the strategies they prioritise. The report is based on a comprehensive survey of 927 cybersecurity professionals worldwide and offers insights into the current trends driving cloud security.

Preference for Hybrid and Multi-Cloud Continues
In 2024, a majority of organisations (78%) are opting for hybrid and multi-cloud strategies. Of those organisations, 43% use a hybrid of cloud and on-premises infrastructure, and 35% have a multi-cloud strategy.

These numbers represent only a slight increase from two years ago when 39% of organisations were using hybrid cloud and 33% multi-cloud.

“After years of rapid adoption, cloud growth has slowed as the market matured. At this point, the hype appears to have found its equilibrium, and the benefits of cloud computing are well understood” noted Gary Peel, Cloud BDM for Fortinet in Africa. “Organisations with IT needs that can benefit from cloud flexibility and agility or that require services unique to cloud environments are able to move forward with their projects”, he added.

“Most organisations also recognise that security needs to be included in their cloud strategies. The cybersecurity challenges associated with the cloud and the need for enhanced security measures in cloud environments have become more critical in the face of new AI-based threats. In fact, 78% of organisations report being very or extremely concerned about cloud security. Security is clearly a priority, with 61% of respondents anticipating that their cloud security budget will increase over the next 12 months.”

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