Inside the Briefcase
Uh oh: The cloud is the new ‘bring your own’ tech for users
September 30, 2011 No CommentsA new study shows that corporate IT is concerned about the deployment of cloud computing applications without the involvement of IT
new study by cloud monitoring provider Opsview finds that more than two thirds of U.K. organizations are worried about something called “cloud sprawl.” Cloud sprawl happens when employees deploy cloud computing-based applications without the involvement of their IT department. In the U.S., we call these “rogue clouds,” but it looks like this situation is becoming an international issue — and reflects the same “consumerized IT” trend reflected by the invasion of personal mobile devices into the enterprise in the last 18 months. Here’s my take on this phenomenon: If IT does its job, then those at the department levels won’t have to engage cloud providers to solve business problems. I think that most in IT disagree with this, if my speaking engagements are any indication. However, if I were in IT and somebody told me they had to use a cloud-based product to solve a problem because they could no longer wait for IT, I would be more likely to apologize than to tell them they broke some rule. Moreover, I would follow up with guidance and learn how to use the cloud myself more effectively.
