JD Sherry, Global Director of Technology and Solutions at Trend Micro, discussed the aspect of security in cloud adoption with theCube host Jeff Frick, live at the AWS 2013 Summit today.

The issue Trend Micro set out to explore is that of securing assets when a company adopts the cloud. The main issue to consider is “what you need to take a look at when you move your security assets into the cloud.”

When it comes to protecting assets, JD Sherry pointed out that cloud providers such as AWS have done and excellent job at “baking security in their solutions”. Yet there is a shared responsibility when it comes to security. When it comes to control of the operating system level, cloud customers are still responsible for securing their assets.

When considering moving to the cloud, Sherry explained, “we can get caught up in how quickly we can move, especially legacy businesses.”  Businesses worry over how they can make the move from both an engineering perspective and a security perspective, as they imply different preparations in what architecture is concerned. Typically, they would first move their non-production assets, test the cloud and after they get comfortable and see it as secure, continue to move their production assets.

Asked why a company decides to move to the cloud and pick a provider such as AWS, Sherry said it all comes down to a cost/benefit analysis. After considering ROI yielded by moving from huge costs to monthly payments, the move becomes “about the infostructure, not the infrastructure,” what data a company decides to move into the cloud. Trend Micro customers, he said, are feeling more and more comfortable about moving their assets into the cloud securely.

Noticing a change of mood in cloud adoption, Sherry pointed out a shift in the perspective of legacy business customers, who wanted to do IT on their own before, and are now interested in moving into the cloud and do it in a secure manner, no longer being interested in being in the data center business.