Investigation into cloud computing adoption within the hedge fund industry

Abstract

Cloud computing is not associated with a specific technology, instead it as an alternative method to deliver technology as a service. This article investigates current cloud computing adoption in the United States (USA) and United Kingdom (UK) hedge fund industry. Hedge fund technologists, prime service consultants, technology service providers, industry application vendors, investors and an independent information security consultant participated were surveyed for this article. The article acknowledges the growth of cloud computing in the hedge fund sector. This research work also highlights that the private cloud definition is vague and requires further classification, elaborating on the variants of private cloud. This is important as the variants of private cloud computing offer varying benefits and risk which the hedge fund sector has proven to be sensitive. Equally, this article argues that some of the current security concerns are over-stated and perhaps reflect a conservative decision making framework rather than a realistic consideration of the options.