Multicloud Deployments Create Security Challenges, F5 Report Finds

Organizations are increasingly using multiple types of cloud deployment models for application delivery, according to F5 Networks’ 2018 State of Application Delivery report. In fact, 87 percent of organizations are currently using multiple clouds to facilitate their application delivery needs, the study found. The 37-page report, which was released on Jan. 16 and is based on a survey of 3,460 members of the IT community, revealed that organizations are using different cloud models for different use cases, with applications such as internal finance and human resources tending to use on-premises private clouds. Despite the benefits of using multiple clouds, they do represent some challenges for organizations, including security risks. In this slide show, eWEEK looks at some of the highlights of F5’s 2018 The State of Application Delivery report.

Eighty-seven percent of respondents to the F5 survey said they use more than one type of cloud deployment for application delivery. The study found that organizations use different cloud models for different kinds of applications. Applications that are most commonly deployed with on-premises private cloud footprints include internal finance and human resources.

Multiple cloud deployments means multiple challenges for organizations. The top challenge (cited by 42 percent of respondents) is properly applying consistent security policies across all of a company’s applications.

In the move toward digital transformation, organizations are embracing a number of approaches. Fifty-five percent of respondents indicated that their organizations are now automating and orchestrating IT systems and processes.

Also as part of digital transformation efforts, 41 percent of respondents said they are exploring new application architectures such as containers and microservices.

Organizations use multiple types of application services, with security services, including network firewall, antivirus, SSL-VPN and spam mitigation services, among the most deployed.

Web Application Firewall (WAF) technology helps defend against application layer attacks. Only 13 percent of respondents said that 100 percent of their organization’s applications are protected by a WAF.

F5 found that organizations largely had the same security concerns in the 2018 survey as they did in 2017. Among the top security challenges is the increasing sophistication of attacks and a lack of IT security skills.