Security fears are cited as one of the top reasons for organizations not using cloud Software-as-as-Service (SaaS) platforms, such as Office 365, but that needn’t be the case with the right added security controls in place.

A recent survey aimed at measuring trends around the adoption and use of Microsoft Office 365 found that of the 1,100 organizations measured, 63 percent of respondents are currently using Office 365, while 49 percent of the remaining respondents who didn’t already use it are planning to adopt the cloud software package. In a similar study from 2016, only 42 percent of respondents were using Office 365, meaning that over 20 percent more enterprises have embraced the SaaS in just one year – and we may see steady growth next year.

With news stating that cloud computing spending is growing faster than expected, cloud migration rates will continue to soar.

Yet, there is one area of concern for those who haven’t migrated to Office 365 and that’s security. Truth be told, cloud security has always been a prevalent issue discussed by those within business and enterprise, due mostly to the unknown and the fear of putting data outside of the organization. Per the results from the survey, security fears were cited as a reason 44 percent hadn’t moved to using Office 365. It was also found that 89 percent of respondents had expressed concerns over phishing, spear phishing and social engineering.

Having inadequate security measures in place will jeopardize the data stored within any cloud infrastructure and the attack methods stated above represent just a handful of options available to today’s hackers. Security should be one of the main requirements for organizations when looking for third party solutions, with encryption being the best defense to protecting the data.

The eperi Gateway works seamlessly with Office 365 and will encrypt the data before it is transferred to the cloud, preventing access to the data to all those that do not have the encryption keys. This ensures the organization is fully compliant with national and international data laws (including the upcoming EU General Data Protection Regulation) and that the data is fully protected from any unauthorized party, which is the main priority.

When the correct security technology is applied, organizations will no longer need to fear the cloud with knowledge that their data is safe.

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Don’t let data security concerns hold you back from using Microsoft Office 365