Asia’s digital native businesses (DNBs) face growing security and technology complexity challenges as they accelerate cloud adoption, posing a risk to sustained business growth, according to a new study from cloud company, Akamai Technologies.
The study reveals that nine in 10 DNBs prioritise efficiency and productivity over the next 12 months and are investing in technologies such as cloud computing and application program interface (API)-enabled microservices.
Akamai Cloud Computing chief technology officer, Jay Jenkins said, “Cutting-edge technology is at the core of DNA for digital native businesses — but this is both an opportunity and a challenge. Accelerated tech adoption is the potential Achilles’ heel for DNBs, with IT complexity ramping up to expose critical cyber risks that threaten cloud implementations and potentially business performance.
“For DNBs who are ‘born in the cloud’ to leverage their full potential, these businesses must find ways to maximise cloud performance and embrace a multicloud approach to avoid vendor lock-in, enhance flexibility, and maximise cloud service usage and costs.”
With infrastructure built around microservices that operate independently and communicate through APIs, DNBs can scale and improve time to market. According to Akamai’s study, around three-quarters (74%) of DNBs have either fully migrated to the cloud or are adopting cloud technologies.
Respondents in Australia and New Zealand are shifting their perspective on cloud technology from being seen as a disruptive force to becoming an essential business component, with 97% either adopting cloud solutions or exploring cloud adoption.
The top three business priorities for ANZ survey respondents over the next 12 months are prioritising efficiency (74%), building organisational resilience (51%) and improving sustainability markers (49%). Over two thirds (69%) of ANZ respondents use third party tools to optimise cloud costs.
ANZ respondents cite cloud costs (36%), managing security implications (36%) and lack of technical expertise (36%) as the top three challenges encountered with cloud migration. 87% marked real-time analytics and reporting as a critical/important product feature in their evaluation of a cloud/security solution provider.
DNBs are inherently ‘born in the cloud’, but securing life online remains a challenge as they struggle to leverage the full potential of emerging technology in cloud, data, and AI. They are prime targets for cyberattacks due to their extensive use of APIs and cloud-based infrastructures, exposing them to greater risk for phishing, account compromise, and ransomware.
Akamai’s research revealed that DNBs are prioritising API security to address cloud security issues, with nine in 10 stating that API security is a critical or important product feature when evaluating a cloud or security provider. In addition, 87% of DNBs state that security features outweigh even performance, reputation, scalability, and cost, when choosing a cloud provider.
“APIs are the connective tissue in modern cloud-native infrastructures. To ensure agile, flexible, and secure operations, a modern security framework must provide advanced API security measures, regular API security audits, and high visibility into API activity,” Jenkins added.