Microsoft survey reveals that more than
three-quarters of senior executives recognize they are not fully
prepared for a security breach
TORONTO, Oct. 27, 2016 /CNW/ - As digital strategy
increasingly becomes a priority for Canadian business leaders and
more are migrating their data to the cloud, a new survey from
Microsoft Canada reveals concerns and confusion around security and
preparedness when it comes to managing data.
The survey, conducted by Northstar on behalf of Microsoft, asked
more than 700 Canadian business leaders about digital
transformation and found that 71 per cent of senior executives say
implementing a digital strategy is one of their top five business
objectives in 2017, with 68 per cent saying they are already
harnessing the power of the cloud and 81 per cent stating that
cloud solutions will play an important role in executing their
digital strategy.
However, despite this shift, there is still some skepticism
among Canadian business leaders, with 58 per cent listing security
as a top concern when migrating to the cloud, followed by privacy
(47 per cent). In addition to this, only 21% of executives
reported that they feel they are "fully prepared" in the case of a
data hack or leak.
"It's great to see that the cloud continues to gain momentum and
that Canadian businesses recognize its value," said Janet Kennedy, president of Microsoft Canada.
"After learning more about the cloud and our approach to security,
we're seeing companies of all sizes adopt the Microsoft cloud to
achieve better security. Quite simply, what they realize is that
it's impossible for most organizations to match the kind of
investment Microsoft is making in security technology,
infrastructure and operational processes to protect their
data."
According to Doug Schneider,
Senior Vice President and Global Chief Technical Officer at
Manulife Financial, one of Canada's leading financial services companies,
Manulife chose Microsoft Azure for their journey to the cloud
because of Microsoft's complete suite of technology services and
strong security offering. "The use of Microsoft Azure is and
continues to be a cornerstone for our transition to the cloud.
Microsoft's comprehensive suite of technology and services coupled
with their strong security offering for our data made this a
win-win for us. It was a natural extension to our already strong
partnership."
For Goldcorp, one of the world's largest gold mining companies,
operating high-quality mining assets in a safe and sustainable
manner is critical to doing business. "Like so many industries, we
regularly face threats to our data and therefore to our operations.
It is critical for us to have robust, reliable technology and
effective cybersecurity solutions as we strive to be an industry
leader in all parts of our business," said Luis Canepari, Vice
President, Information Technology at Goldcorp. "We've
partnered with Microsoft for many of our technology needs, given
the investments Microsoft has made in security, and trust Microsoft
to help us protect some of our most valuable assets: our data. This
frees us up to focus on what's most important – being the best at
mining."
Microsoft invests more than $1
billion in security research and development every year and
recently announced its Cyber Defense Operations Centre; a
state-of-the-art facility that brings together security response
experts from across the company to help protect, detect and respond
to threats in real-time.
In addition, Microsoft's Windows 10 operating system has
Credential Guard, Device Guard and improved security features such
as BitLocker, which means security events related to client device
management requiring IT remediation are reduced or avoided
altogether.
Other notable finding from the survey include:
- Local data residency is important for businesses with the
majority (85 per cent) reporting that they want their data to
remain in Canada;
- 89 per cent of business leaders say it's important for their
cloud service provider's solutions to integrate with their existing
IT investments;
- The overwhelming majority (90 per cent) indicated that it is
important for cloud providers to actively target cyber criminals
and work with governments to maintain top cybersecurity
standards.
"The survey confirmed that business leaders need to feel
confident that their data is secure and is being stored here in
Canada. This is especially
important for businesses with stringent compliance standards, such
as government and healthcare organizations. To address this need,
we recently opened datacentres in Toronto and Quebec
City," added Kennedy.
Currently, 80 per cent of the Fortune 500 companies are on the
Microsoft cloud. Microsoft was the first major cloud service
provider to sign the international code of practice for cloud
privacy, ISO 27018. All of Microsoft's services are
independently verified to meet legal and compliance requirements,
are financially backed and offer transparent information on their
availability. Microsoft also continues to work with industry
security partners, governments and enterprise customers, and
engages Microsoft's Digital Crimes Unit when law enforcement needs
arise.
To learn more about Microsoft's security strategy and
investments, visit the Microsoft Secure website.
ABOUT THE SURVEY
The survey was conducted on behalf of
Microsoft Canada by Northstar, a globally integrated insights
consulting firm. Interviews were conducted with 711 senior level
Canadian business leaders in the private and public sectors in
October of 2016. Results are considered accurate to within +/- 5
percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
ABOUT MICROSOFT CANADA
Established in 1985,
Microsoft Canada Inc. is the Canadian subsidiary of
Microsoft Corporation (Nasdaq "MSFT") the worldwide leader in
software, services and solutions that help people and businesses
realize their full potential. Microsoft Canada provides
nationwide sales, marketing, consulting and local support services
in both French and English. Headquartered in Mississauga,
Microsoft Canada has nine regional offices across the
country dedicated to empowering people through great software - any
time, any place and on any device. For more information on
Microsoft Canada, please visit www.microsoft.ca.
SOURCE Microsoft Canada Inc.