IT contractors could find a growing number of opportunities in tackling cloud computing security, an expert has claimed.

Rik Ferguson, senior security advisor at Trend Micro, has claimed that aspects such as virtualisation and multi-tenancy storage area networks are big areas which still need more to be done to secure them.

He highlighted the need for the industry to rethink how the security model currently in place operates and whether this is sufficient for a system where the exact location of information is difficult to determine at any given moment.

"We as security providers need to rethink our security model and I think this is probably the biggest challenge," he explained.

Mr Ferguson also highlighted the importance of ensuring that this security is "sticky" and remains effective throughout the system.

Trend Micro recently reported that cloud computing and virtualisation offer businesses large cost savings, which could lead firms to invest in IT contractors.