techUK, the leading voice for the UK technology industry, has today released a series of papers, Building Trust in the Security of Cloud, which will provide consumers, SMEs and local government leaders with the information they need to better understand the security underpinning cloud and fully embrace the technology.

The cloud is a flexible, stable and secure platform that consumers, businesses and government alike, can benefit from using on a much wider scale.

While many are already seeing the potential advantages cloud offers, often potential users are held back from harnessing cloud benefits due to concerns about security. For example, 61% of UK SMEs say they are worried that information might get lost, stolen or damaged in the cloud.

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These concerns must be addressed through practical guidance from industry so that customers feel safe in the knowledge that, in choosing the cloud, they are making decision that is the best (and the most secure) option for their specific needs.

Sue Daley, head of cloud, data, analytics and artificial intelligence at techUK, said: “The next wave of our digital revolution is being powered by the internet of things, big data analytics and artificial intelligence – cloud computing underpins all of these developments. Given the importance of this technology to the UK’s digital future, it is vital that users understand the security benefits of the Cloud and that advice delivered today addresses the users’ concerns.”

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“We want to take away all the confusion around cloud and highlight that cloud services can actually offer much greater levels of security and resilience as required by users. Our intention with these papers is to provide practical advice that will help consumers, businesses and local government leaders feel empowered to ask the right questions and make the right choices when considering a move to the Cloud.”

The papers, each addressing a different audience, provide information on how to get the most out of cloud computing while also addressing trust and security concerns.

Details of techUK’s papers include; explaining what cloud computing is, how cloud can be used to deliver real benefits, how to consider what information to share with the cloud and a practical ‘Cloud ABC’ guide that outlines the questions to ask potential cloud providers and what the answers should be.