A recent survey from Crossbeam sought to discover the main reasons why IT organizations are having difficult times making the move to so-called Next-Generation Data Centers, those that provide their services at lower cost and with better energy efficiency than their predecessors. Crossbeam's (News - Alert) survey discovered that there weren't several little reasons so much as there was one main reason: network security.

The Crossbeam survey addressed 529 IT professionals in large enterprises, and discovered that 94 percent of them cited network security as the main issue preventing the launch of Next-Generation Data Centers. Over 40 percent of respondents also called network security the biggest obstacle they faced in making such a transition, with storage as the second largest obstacle at 15 percent and 14 percent attributing problems to application servers.

It's not surprising why large enterprises would want Next Generation Data Centers under their employ, with more flexibility and efficiency as part of their very hallmark. Reductions in energy use and more cost savings potential are top priorities for many businesses these days, so IT representatives citing common problems is worrying to say the least.

One of the main problems involved in network security, according to the survey, was that network security technology is lagging, and there’s a lack of understanding about how to modify current network security technology to meet the demands of a Next Generation Data Center. Budgets required to make those modifications are slow as well. Network security infrastructure therefore needs to be as flexible and efficient as the data centers themselves, and that hasn't yet happened.

Fixing the problem is a tall order in its own right; while a Next Generation Data Center's benefits are clear, they are provided by virtue of their ability to adapt to the needs of their users. Applications and data are more readily moved, and as such, security must go with them. Making a security system both mobile and protective isn’t easy.

With a tool as valuable as the Next Generation Data Center on the line, and with the network security market poised for growth to match, chances are security solutions will arise at some point. How soon it will reach users is unclear.