The show floor at Cloud Expo West this week is buzzing with discussion around securing data in the cloud. It’s no wonder when you consider just how comfortable employees are tossing corporate data in the cloud, which consequently makes IT folks very uncomfortable.
You really can’t blame employees for wanting to use cloud applications. After all they’re just looking to get their jobs done efficiently. And, it likely comes as no surprise that employees are not always asking IT for permission. So how does this tug-of-war between employees and IT departments play out?
Symantec conducted a two-prong survey to understand the behavior of employees when it comes to use of cloud applications at work. First, we asked employees, who regularly use computers for their job, a series of 10 questions about cloud applications, including email, file share, storage/backup, productivity apps and contact manager apps, and policies in the workplace. Then, we asked the same questions of IT managers/staff on-site at Cloud Expo West.
What we discovered is a significant disconnect – IT is trying to control the flow of corporate data outside the corporate firewall by creating cloud policies and monitoring the use of cloud applications, while employees are happily in the dark about their company’s policies. Below is a quick look at key findings from the survey (more detailed findings available here.
New cloud services are being used by employees whether IT is ready or not. IT needs to enable these cloud interactions while keeping their information, people and infrastructure protected. Symantec recommends organizations follow best practices to enable cloud services, while mitigating the new risk they pose to organizations: