As companies continue to include the cloud in their overall IT initiatives – taking advantage of elasticity, scalability, interoperability and mobility – concerns around management, governance and control of data are preventing some organizations from fully embracing cloud services.

In fact, according to the recent Ponemon cloud survey, over 30% of IT and compliance respondents claim that concerns about data security have kept their organization from adopting cloud services…. And approximately half place a high priority on security when evaluating cloud providers.

For many, the benefits and the desire to migrate to the cloud in organizations seem to outweigh the security concerns.

That being said, every company’s risk tolerance is different.  Some of the variables in play that impact risk tolerance certainly include the type of information being moved and stored in the cloud, the industry (and associated compliance requirements) and of not only the company but also its business partners, as well as the specific security measures provided (or not provided) by cloud providers they are considering.

Not all cloud services are created equal.  There are absolutely great differences in the measures different providers have taken to protect information they process and store in the cloud.  A few security considerations include authentication and authorization as well as protecting data not only while it’s in transit to the cloud, but also while it remains there.