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Workers are embracing the cloud revolution – and even spending money on this technology without their IT department’s knowledge. Photograph: Blend Images/Alamy
Workers are embracing the cloud revolution – and even spending money on this technology without their IT department’s knowledge. Photograph: Blend Images/Alamy

How covert clouds can help drive business innovation

This article is more than 10 years old
The threat of off-radar IT spending may not be as worrying as many CIOs think, writes Joe Baguley

As technology in the home becomes more sophisticated, it's no surprise that employees want to see the same level of functionality in the technology they use in their working lives. Consumers have embraced the cloud computing revolution and now rely on having instant access to music, films, photos and documents from any location on any device. For many it is a point of frustration that their work does not offer similar access. And so, with many IT departments unable to keep pace with this trend, workers have started to circumvent them altogether.

In fact, recent research from VMware has found that in the UK nearly a quarter of workers have admitted to spending over £1,500 a year on cloud technology without the IT department's knowledge. Over a third of employees confessed to using unapproved IT services to get a job done.

The security implications of this are worrying and show that chief information officers (CIOs) are losing the battle for control of company data. If the problem is left unaddressed we can expect to see a rise in data security breaches as vital data is sent across unapproved and insecure channels. Additionally, a number of businesses could find themselves falling foul of strict information compliance regulations within their industries as they discover they no longer know exactly how their data is being used or where their data is stored.

Working for the greater good

Clearly, data security and compliance are key factors in running a business, so why do employees feel it is an acceptable risk? Professor Nelson Phillips, chair of strategy and organisation behaviour at Imperial College London terms this rebellion a form of "positive deviance". He says: "Office workers are breaking the rules, but it's not for selfish reasons. These employees are doing it for positive reasons – because they want to collaborate more effectively, or respond to customers more quickly."

IT departments also recognise that covert clouds can be a force for good in the business. Many believe that it's a way to drive innovation in the organisation, and even acknowledge that it can provide a better service for clients than the IT department can currently offer.

Keeping up with your employees

Cloud computing has clearly raised the bar in IT delivery, creating an appetite and expectation for fast, dynamic IT that supports business transformation on demand. Employees are craving the flexibility they have in their personal lives and are embracing new ways of working faster than IT can support.

However, the pace at which IT is expected to adapt has increased and, without the right infrastructure, the IT team will not be able to meet this demand. While there are undoubtedly positive aspects to employees taking a proactive approach to driving innovation and growth, this must ultimately be done within a secure but flexible IT environment that can cope with the ever changing demands of the workforce.

Organisations need to take a proactive approach to providing these services while ensuring there are appropriate levels of management, security and visibility in place. Crucial to this is creating a dialogue and greater alignment between IT and other departments. Equally, it will be important to build in employee requirements proactively and set agreed parameters for access to products and services, to reduce the burden of reactive IT management.

Shift in focus

Key to all of this is an understanding that the focus for IT has shifted from providing and managing devices such as PCs, to providing access to key applications and data on any device.

CIOs need to lead this shift in technology and deliver an IT environment that is secure and fully controlled, but not at the expense of employee freedom. The workforce must be able to make technology decisions to bring in the technology and services that best complement their working culture. With this best practice, covert clouds can be brought out of the shadows and can offer organisations a competitive advantage, rather than acting as a threat to the security, management and compliance of the business.

Joe Baguley is chief technologist EMEA at VMware

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