While there has been a fear that technology such as cloud-based email and cloud-based productivity tools would not have the same level of security as legacy programs, one security firm executive said people will get over their fears of cloud computing security in 2012, according to SC Magazine.

James Lyne, director of technology strategy at Sophos, told the magazine that the fear and doubt should dissipate in 2012 and there will be more of a focus on legally protecting data in the cloud.

People still need to understand the cloud and what it does exactly, according to general manager of NCP Engineering Patrict Graf. He said companies without an IT department can find the cloud especially helpful and, when everything is integrated, it should start to make a bit more sense to the general business public.

EWeek said a big trend in cloud computing storage in the next year will be trying to get a price reduction on cloud services without seeing a reduction in performance or security, something that many businesses will strive for next year.