October 18, 2016
Given the amount of corporate data stored in the cloud, public cloud apps have become a top Shadow IT risk for businesses. How have cloud storage apps become so popular in the enterprise? One key trend that has contributed significantly to the sheer volume of cloud apps is the decentralization of IT investments.
According to a report from Oracle, Putting Cultural Transformation at the Heart of Cloud Success, more than 60% of a company’s overall IT spend is being driven by individual business units versus traditional IT departments. Decentralized purchasing makes it difficult for companies to leverage the full benefits of cloud services, argues Oracle. But this IT funding model can also lead to increased Shadow IT and Shadow Data.
Nearly half of those surveyed (46%) say data silos are created as a consequence of decentralized IT spending. When data is held in apps outside the control of IT, the task of securing that data becomes more challenging. Left unattended, these data silos can lead to costly data breaches. If IT can't see or control sensitive corporate data stored on unauthorized Cloud-based applications, that data is not secure. As much as one third (35%) of technology respondents believe Shadow IT practices inhibit the ability of IT to delivery on business goals, including security.
We are in the midst of a cultural transformation. Mobile devices and the cloud are key drivers, and as these technologies continue to reshape the modern workplace, the role of the CIO will be transformed as well. IT teams will also be hard-pressed to retain control over their corporate data security and governance. If anything, the Oracle report drives home the importance of creating a top-down culture of security, with the CIO leading the charge in setting a business-level cloud strategy that is both more unified and more secure.
Technologies such as Absolute DDS can help you implement cloud storage solutions while ensuring that these applications do not violate corporate data security policies. Using Absolute DDS, you can identify devices with cloud storage software and detect devices that have at-risk files stored on the device or in the cloud. In turn, this allows IT to proactively respond to the presence of at-risk data with remote data delete capabilities. Read more about this use case in our post, How to Use Absolute DDS to Identify At-Risk Data in Cloud Applications. Better yet, download your free evaluation version of Absolute DDS today.
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