CAUSE& EFFECT: Cloud Decentralization Leads to Confusion and Risk

1

“Like the deck crew on the Titanic, IT professionals

are aware only of the tip of the iceberg.”

“On average, an organization is using

24 different file sharing services and

91 different collaboration services.

This disjointed state not only impedes

collaboration and leads to employee

frustration, but also results in greater risk

since 60% of the file sharing services

used are high risk services.”

—Skyhigh Networks, "Cloud Adoption & Risk Report,” 2014

&

CAUSE

EFFECT:

Cloud Decentralization

Leads to Confusion

and Risk

Tangoe research has identified two distinct perspectives towards the management and

deployment of cloud applications in large enterprises: lack of awareness and concern.

And in some instances, sheer panic from an inability to manage a growing problem!

3

CAUSE

_cause

Cloud applications and services can be accessed and used from virtually anywhere. While this can be a great convenience for the individual user, it can be a nightmare for IT teams. For most organizations, cloud use spans various departments and remains out of IT’s scope and awareness, and without centralized control, organizations face serious security and financial risks.

This decentralization can make it difficult for organizations to: • Track cloud-related contracts or invoices

• Determine who ordered what cloud subscriptions • Verify who is currently using what cloud services

• Uncover which users have been assigned cloud licenses • Establish who is responsible for cloud costs

In a decentralized cloud environment, employees in need of a solution can simply activate cloud services without IT’s knowledge or ability to vet the service. This creates a scenario where IT’s

ability to conduct an accurate inventory of the cloud services in use is severely impaired, resulting in the business as a whole lacking visibility into those cloud contracts and invoices.

Consequently, organizations that fail to gain control of cloud expense and usage are likely losing money and potentially exposing themselves to serious security risks. So it’s critical that organizations establish visibility into cloud use because YOU CAN’T MANAGE WHAT YOU CAN’T SEE.

Here are a few of the most frequent obstacles to establishing the visibility and control required:

• Employees activate new clouds services as desired/needed • Most organizations have no cloud policy in place

• Many employees may not realize what tools utilize cloud computing resources

Using applications, devices, software, and services without the explicit organizational approval of IT has been known for decades as “Shadow IT” for obvious reasons. With the ease of access to cloud applications, IT is now dealing with another form of Shadow IT called BYOC or Bring Your Own Cloud. This refers to employees using cloud services that they may own or control outside of IT’s knowledge. Examples include the use of an employee’s personal Dropbox or Google Docs accounts to perform document collaboration and sharing with other employees or third parties.

Keep in mind that centralization is the goal; there are many risks to the business when cloud deployments are decentralized. However, if governed, managed, and guided appropriately to mitigate the risks, BYOC can create value for the organization. But the opposite is also true, and that left unguided and uncontrolled, it can destroy value. That should be top of mind when weighing the pros and cons against these organizational risks:

Financial – Without clear visibility into who is spending what across the

organization, there is little hope of establishing and maintaining an accurate view of cloud costs. That translates into waste in the form of unused licenses and overages (too many licenses or overconsumption of metered use). In many cases, this will create the need for an audit. Gartner estimates that companies have a 63% chance of being audited in 2015 for contract-related issues. Are you sure you’re in compliance with your contracts?

Operational – The agility of cloud is one of the primary drivers of its adoption,

which is why employees look to cloud apps because they can turn on services without involving IT or other departments. In most cases, employees are not acting maliciously but are simply trying to utilize new tools to remain productive. But if IT has no knowledge of these tools, it will have trouble controlling its own valuable resources.

For its part, organizations cannot take full advantage of the many cloud benefits that employees seek without centralized control. For instance, if you can’t “fire up” a new employee on day one and provide access to all the assets they need to do their job, you are not taking full advantage of the benefits of cloud, and you experience a loss of productivity. That’s why it’s crucial to find a way to utilize the cloud to the fullest extent without leaving IT in the dark.

5

Security – Cloud services are agile by nature, offering speed and

ease of deployment along with fast updating and patching. In addition, they can typically be deployed without involvement from IT. This proves incredibly attractive to the lines of business. However, people often misinterpret the general availability of cloud services as the green light to use them without an approved implementation from IT.

As enterprises look to put more and more business critical applications and workloads in the cloud, it is imperative that they involve IT in cloud service integration and management.

Another vital reason why IT must be able to manage cloud applications is security. However you look at it, operating cloud resources without the expressed permission and approval of IT can engender risks. If the management of cloud apps and services isn’t centralized, businesses can’t ensure their own security. Although cloud services are most often used in good faith, their tendency to remain in the shadows of IT’s line of sight can raise important questions:

• Do employees have complete access control?

• Can former employees attempt to use cloud subscriptions? • Can you be sure that the apps in use are all enterprise-grade? • Are these apps in compliance with regulatory mandates?

In a decentralized environment, you just don’t know, so why take the chance?

So now you are a believer! You understand that

organizations need visibility and control over

all cloud apps and deployments being used

throughout the company in order to control

spending, reduce risk, and increase productivity.

What do you do now? What’s the first step on

the road to centralization? Tangoe recommends

performing a cloud maturity assessment as a way

of discovering exactly what cloud services are in

use across your organization. Only then can IT

begin to accurately assess the situation and put a

centralization plan in place.

Tangoe’s MatrixCloud solution enables enterprises to

implement, centralize, and control cloud service costs and

ensure the best possible value from cloud services for all

corporate user communities.

NEXT STEPS

FIND OUT MORE

Perform cloud maturity assessment Centralize cloud accounts, invoices, and contracts Establish impacts on financial, operational, and security aspects of

organization

Identify all cloud services in use using

cloud discovery methods Implement cloud management processes and technology Implement and enforce adaptable

cloud policy with approved use and

accountability guidelines Use Shadow IT trends to understand employee needs Educate business on