When it feels like you’re the only one to appreciate the dangers of unchecked cloud app use, it’s easy to think there’s no way of managing the situation. Do you feel that it’s a lost cause?
The worst offenders
If you find yourself at this stage of the app acceptance process, it’s likely you’re highly aware of a) what unchecked app use can mean for the business, and b) your employees’ blatant disregard for any policies you’ve put in place in an attempt to control app usage. Rightly or wrongly, this circumventing of the rules – a common symptom of shadow IT – is probably causing you a lot of frustration, even animosity, towards the worst offenders.
This lack of control is probably one of the biggest drivers of anger in the IT department. Maybe you feel like the Dutch boy plugging the leaking dyke with his finger: as soon as you deploy one sanctioned app or enforce a policy, another unsanctioned app or workaround springs up somewhere else? Employees’ use of cloud apps outside of the secure circumstances you’ve created causes you extra work, hassle and stress. Without tools like a cloud access security broker to give you full visibility into what everyone is doing, it’s impossible for you effectively to protect the business from attack or data loss. The flood is coming, and you’re running out of time…
A third (33 per cent) of respondents to our survey were concerned that employees would take advantage and use inappropriate or insecure apps within the workplace. When asked which department they felt had used cloud apps without permission, IT decision makers pointed fingers at the operations team (34 per cent), sales team (31 per cent) and HR department (27 per cent) as the worst offenders. Worryingly, these teams are perhaps the most likely to be dealing with customer and employee data, including personally identifiable information (PII).
Driving further frustration, 27 per cent said a lack of understanding at board level about what cloud apps could achieve gave them the most concern about app use. This disconnect with the board is not only frustrating, but could be holding back the business.
At the end of the day, it’s you who will be hauled in front of the board if a cloud app is compromised and company data goes walkabout as a result. Well, that doesn’t seem fair, when that same board wo