Shadow IT Cloud Apps Put Enterprises at Risk
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High Adoption
The average global enterprise uses more than 1,100 cloud apps. This translates into more than 1,245 cloud apps at a North American enterprise, vs. 981 applications at a European company. -
Underestimating 'Shadow IT'
On average, 86% of cloud apps used by enterprises are unsanctioned shadow IT. In North America, the rate is higher, at 88%, and in Europe, it's 82%. -
Risky Behavior
An average of 56 high-risk clouds per organization were found in North America, vs. 42 high-risk clouds in Europe. This translates into more than 300 users per organization employing high-risk clouds in 2014. -
Biggest Offenders
Publishing, social and career clouds are 2014's highest-risk cloud categories: 52% of publishing apps are rated high risk, followed by social (42%) and career clouds (40%). Software development, cloud storage, IT infrastructure, CRM, HR and business management apps also pose risks for businesses. -
No Laggards
Europe is narrowing the cloud adoption gap. Research results find that European enterprises leverage the cloud just as much as in North America. An average European organization uses 80% as many cloud apps in 2014. -
Closing the Gap
Top cloud apps used by European enterprises are virtually the same categories as North American companies. North American enterprises used an average of 94 IT infrastructure and 68 analytics cloud applications, compared with 69 IT infrastructure and 58 analytics cloud apps in Europe. -
No Safe Harbor
70% of U.S. cloud apps used by European organizations do not have Safe Harbor certification. In CipherCloud's data set, only 9% of the clouds used by European enterprises were either based in Europe or in European-approved data transfer regions, and 21% were U.S. clouds and Safe Harbor approved. -
Social Tops in Popularity
Social (254) leads with the highest average number of cloud apps accessed globally by enterprises, followed by collaboration (211) and marketing (196). Other big cloud apps in use include IT infrastructure (163), media (140), cloud storage (136), software development (129), analytics (126) and e-commerce (114). -
Three Recommendations
CipherCloud recommends developing a multi-faceted cloud governance and control framework; establishing integrated technologies to discover, protect and monitor cloud use; and managing cloud strategies proactively.
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Why Metrics Matter to the Channel Opportunities are abundant for service providers that can help enterprises mitigate the risks of unsanctioned or shadow IT cloud applications that can introduce security problems, such as the potential for data exposure or theft. As cloud app use continues to grow, it presents a higher risk of non-approved applications used by information employees. It's no surprise that research from CipherCloud indicates that publishing apps (such as WordPress and Adobe Creative Cloud), social media sites (including LinkedIn and Twitter) and career sites (such as Indeed and Resumonk) are ranked as the most risky cloud categories. Organizations are underestimating the level of shadow IT in their cloud ecosystems, according to a new report on cloud use and risks from CipherCloud, a cloud security provider. The "Cloud Adoption & Risk Report in North America & Europe–2014 Trends" report is based on the activity of CipherCloud's millions of users during the 2014 calendar year. A key finding indicates that the cloud is entering enterprises at a record rate, which has resulted in hundreds of high-risk cloud applications being used across North American and European organizations. Here are 10 key findings from the research.