How Canadians can stay secure in the digital world
We recently unveiled the results of our third annual cloud study at the Microsoft Tech Summit in Toronto, which asked senior executives in Canada how cloud technology fits into their business operations. I was encouraged to learn that 71 per cent of Canadian business leaders are prioritizing digital strategy and almost 70 per cent are harnessing the power of the cloud.
Two years ago, when we asked executives if they understood the advantages that cloud technology offers, 90 per cent said they were unfamiliar with the meaning of “cloud computing.” To hear that 81 per cent of executives now recognize the important role that cloud solutions can play in executing their company’s digital strategy is incredibly heartening.
We also asked Canadian business leaders what concerns them about moving to the cloud. Not surprisingly, 58 per cent said they have concerns about security and 47 per cent are concerned about privacy. We understand these concerns. Recent news has put data security into the spotlight and with these types of headlines, it’s only natural for executives to ask, “are we ready for this?”
According to many Canadian businesses, the answer is no. Only about one-in-five senior executives (21 per cent) said their business was “fully prepared” for dealing with a hack or data leak and more than one-third (36 per cent) said their company does not have an end-to-end security strategy.
The good news is that Microsoft is making significant investments to protect our customers’ data against modern security threats today and in the future. Companies of all sizes are adopting the Microsoft cloud as they learn more about our approach to security. They understand that it’s not possible for most organizations to match the kind of investment we are making in security technology, infrastructure, and operational processes to protect their data.
Microsoft spends more than $1 billion dollars a year in security research and development. This results in innovations like our 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. We focus on security so our customers can focus on what they do best: their businesses.
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.
It’s measures like these, along with the in-Canada data residency now available through our cloud datacentres in Toronto and Quebec City, which have brought leading Canadian companies like Goldcorp, Manulife, PCL and many others to the, Microsoft cloud. In fact, 80 per cent of the Fortune 500 companies are there.
The choice made by these and other organizations of Microsoft as their cloud services provider speaks volumes about the confidence and trust they have in us. I am proud of the work we do here at Microsoft Canada to continue to earn that trust. Visit our Microsoft Secure site to learn more about how you can be more secure in a digital world.
