Decision to migrate to the Cloud : A focus on security from the consumer perspective

Cloud computing is an emerging model in which applications, data, computing resources and operating platforms are provided to clients as a service. It represents a unique way to architect and remotely manage computing resources with minimal management effort or service provider interaction. As it become widely used and being relayed on, security and the risks surrounding it became more in focus to ensure the data protection. The purpose of the study is to focus on the security risks of confidentiality, integrity and availability, and how the cloud consumer perceives cloud security based on those risks. For this purpose, a qualitative research method was adopted and semi-structured interviews with 6 users with experience within the cloud were conducted to collect the data. The data were analysed and explained using codes and categories, based on the research questions and related literature. A roadmap was developed consist of four elements which can support in the migration decision. Those elements are: Trust, Compliance, Proactive and Continuous assessment