Companies are waking up to the benefits of multicloud architecture for the flexibility, scalability, and cost savings that can be realised. But a journey to a hybrid or multicloud environment isn't without its pitfalls.

It's time to take advantage of the full capability of the cloud to ensure uptime, scalability and reduced risk, says Ralph Berndt, director, Sales at Syrex.

Clients must be wary of attempts to discredit cloud solutions with claims of their lack of security, says Viesturs Zalaiskalns, channel manager at HansaWorld SA. ?

Security is always a balance of risk versus reward, says Richard Vester, director of Cloud Services at EOH.

SMEs must consider what their service provider should be doing to protect their data, and what the SME should be doing, says?Sven Woxholt, technical director at Sage Pay.

Corporate data can be effectively protected in the cloud, says Roelof Louw, team leader business development at T-Systems SA.

Having e-mail protected in the cloud means it's available in the cloud, says Mark Edwards, director of product and services at Intuate Group.