The increasing adoption of cloud computing in Thailand has led to escalating hidden costs and security risks for companies as sensitive data are placed in the cloud, says a global Symantec survey.
The survey, entitled "Avoiding the Hidden Cost of Cloud 2013", said 99% of respondents in Thailand expressed interest in adopting cloud computing technology, compared to an average of 89% globally.
The respondents included 3,236 organisations in 29 countries, including 100 from Thailand.
Pramut Sriwichian, the country manager of Symantec Thailand, a US-based data back-up and security software firm, said companies are experiencing escalating costs tied to rogue cloud use and inefficient cloud storage.
Rogue clouds are defined as business groups implementing public cloud applications that are not managed by or integrated into the company's IT infrastructure.
Some 67% of Thai organisations have lost cloud data, compared with 47% globally.
And 39% of Thai respondents are concerned about meeting compliance requirements in the cloud, particularly cloud discovery regulations requiring companies to collect data history records as electronic evidence. In fact, 70% of Thai respondents missed their cloud discovery deadlines, leading to fines and legal risks, while 41% have been fined for cloud privacy violations.
The survey also showed that 40% of Thai organisations admit they do not use data de-duplication.
Globally, utilisation of cloud storage is only 17%, Mr Pramut said. Using de-duplication software will enable organisations to manage and increase their storage efficiency by 80%, Mr Pramut added.
Mr Pramut suggested companies focus on data access control in their cloud policies.
The Thai government first adopted cloud technology under its G-cloud project. The banking, telecom and manufacturing sectors are also keen to adopt cloud computing, he said.
Thailand's cloud computing revenue is expected to reach 3 billion baht this year, up from 2 billion in 2011, said Mr Pramut.
He urged the Thai government to implement data privacy laws to enhance consumer confidence and encourage more enterprises to adopt cloud technologies.