Networking specialist firm F5 Networks’ ‘State of App Delivery 2017’ report indicates that 41% of companies in Europe, the Middle East and Africa will continue to invest in private cloud technologies and services this year. However, South Africa’s cloud adoption is lagging significantly behind this global figure, says F5 Networks Africa senior systems engineer Martin Walshaw.

A total of 48% of these companies state that private cloud platforms will have the greatest strategic importance for their organisations over the next two to five years and that 76% of their applications (apps) will be hosted in cloud systems.

The most important security feature for 61% of companies is that the cloud should provide the same level of security and traceability as on-premises services. This indicates that organisations are concerned about the disruption that moving to the cloud can have on operations.

However, the complexities of operating cloud systems are not the same as those of in-house network management, and specialist cloud skills are in short supply worldwide.

“The top security challenge identified by 64% of companies is the increased sophistication of attacks, while the second security challenge identified by 53% of companies is employees underestimating the impact of not following security policy. However, 32% of companies note a lack of information technology (IT) security skills or training within a company remains a key challenge,” confirms Walshaw.

Security policies have to be adjusted to take into account the differences in how security can be applied to data or apps in the cloud – and these services are often additional functionalities that must be activated by the service providers, he explains.

Similarly, the correct way to apply cloud systems to support the required level of business app delivery, availability and security is also becoming better understood, which will assist cloud adoption.

“Cloud platforms use a combination of technologies – often 17 separate systems – to deliver the apps to users, and this is one of the contributors to the complexity of app deployment. However, as IT practitioners gain experience in cloud deployments, they are starting to design the systems and architecture to best leverage cloud systems.”

Despite the challenges, the report indicates that a shift towards a more agile, multicloud world is gaining momentum. Four out of five respondents worldwide indicate they are adopting hybrid cloud models. The main challenge is maintaining consistent security policies across multiple environments.

“The global shift to embrace a hybrid cloud shows a growing recognition that agility and speed can be achieved without compromising security, provided there are consistent policies and solutions in place,” says Walshaw.

New security strategies are required as security teams expand beyond traditional firewalls and legacy enterprise perimeters. Organisations with a Web application firewall and distributed denial-of-service-attacks mitigation services have the highest confidence in their ability to withstand an application-level attack and, interestingly, cloud-first organisations have more confidence in their security, according to the report.

Despite regular reports of breaches, there is no sign that security breaches are slowing digital transformation. The report shows how the sometimes-competing demands of customer and data protection regulations inform companies’ deployment of apps and app services, and can usher in security best practice at a time when it is needed most, Walshaw adds.

“Companies must ensure that they apply security systems to protect their cloud deployments, and cannot assume that service providers automatically apply the level of security required by the companies.”

The increase in app services and continued expansion to the cloud are driving organisations worldwide to use automation and orchestration to manage the scale of operations across multiple environments. South Africa lags developed nations in terms of cloud maturity; however, local companies are recognising the benefits that cloud systems can provide and the correct way of using such systems to reinforce business operations, he concludes.