The Building Cloud Trust report, commissioned by AWS and produced by U.K.-based research firm Vanson Bourne, surveyed 2,800 technology and security decision-makers in 13 countries. The surveys were conducted in September and October, and the report was released Monday.
Of 400 United States-based respondents, about 19 percent represented state and local government, an AWS spokesperson said. Those respondents plan to increase public cloud adoption over the next year, doing so with multiple providers and a combination of cloud and on-premises solutions.
The state government shift is well underway. As Government Technology has reported, Arizona has a cloud-first strategy, Iowa and other states are prioritizing cloud-based services, and Mississippi is establishing a cloud center of excellence. West Virginia, meanwhile, is pursuing a “cloud right” environment that weighs system costs, security, performance and compliance before deciding what goes into the cloud or stays on-premises.
Globally, the AWS report found 81 percent of respondents — in all sectors — said their primary cloud provider’s native security and compliance capabilities exceed what their own teams could deliver, and 51 percent viewed public cloud as better positioned to meet regulations as opposed to on-premises systems.
Cybersecurity and privacy, however, are listed as barriers for adoption, with 40 percent citing it alongside integration challenges and unpredictable costs. The report noted that breaches are often linked to operational or configuration errors rather than flaws in the cloud itself, underscoring the importance of governance and staff training as adoption expands.
An earlier Forrester analysis also listed improving security as one of the important drivers of public-sector cloud adoption, reflecting the AWS results and underscoring how governments are tying modernization to cybersecurity and privacy.
