IT Managers ‘Clueless’ When It Comes To Shadow IT Apps

A survey has found that 72 percent of IT managers do not know the number of shadow IT apps within their organisation.

Is that a problem? It is according to the Cloud Security Alliance, which conducted the survey of 200 senior execs and IT heads.

Security of data

“As companies move data to the cloud, they are looking to put in place policies and processes so that employees can take advantage of cloud services that drive business growth without compromising the security, compliance, and governance of corporate data,” said Jim Reavis, CEO of the CSA.

“We hope that this report provides companies with some good peer insight so that they can make better decisions to help confidently and responsibly accelerate the use of cloud services in their environment.”

The survey also highlighted that decisions concerning the security of data in the cloud has shifted from the IT room to the boardroom, with 61 percent of companies indicating that executives are now involved in such decisions.

While security of data remains a top barrier to cloud adoption, organisations are still moving forward in adopting cloud services, with 74 percent of respondents indicating they are either moving full steam ahead, or with caution, in the adoption of cloud services.

“The past few years have marked a paradigm shift in IT’s role, from provider to enabler,” said Rajiv Gupta, CEO of Skyhigh Networks.

“This survey, the largest of its kind, illustrates that companies are aware of the consumerisation of IT but have room to more proactively address the security concerns of cloud adoption.”

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