How Cloud Adoption, Challenges Are Taking Shape

Although the use of cloud services is expanding, large amounts of data are being uploaded to just a small number of service providers, according to the third-quarter Cloud Adoption & Risk report from cloud monitoring and management specialist Skyhigh Networks in partnership with the Cloud Security Alliance (CSA). The majority of cloud data is finding its way into 11 cloud services, according to the study. The paradox is that the number of cloud services actually being used has increased from 738 to 831. The report also finds that not only are 71 percent of IT pros unaware of the amount of cloud use inside their organizations, there is a major gap in terms of the services that IT organizations think they are blocking and what end users are actually invoking. The good news is that overall cloud security picture is improving, albeit slowly. All told, increased reliance on the cloud creates an opportunity for solution providers in the channel that can help bring usage of these services back under IT control—assuming, of course, the customers truly have the political will inside their organizations to take on that challenge.