{"id":49316,"date":"2016-02-03T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-02-03T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/managing-cloud-sprawl-in-your-organization\/"},"modified":"2020-06-25T19:24:11","modified_gmt":"2020-06-25T19:24:11","slug":"managing-cloud-sprawl-in-your-organization","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/2\/31522\/trends\/managing-cloud-sprawl-in-your-organization","title":{"rendered":"Managing Cloud Sprawl in Your Organization"},"content":{"rendered":"
In the modern age of cloud computing, cloud sprawl<\/a> is a major concern worldwide. This is a situation which is created by the overuse of public cloud<\/a> for various reasons. Cloud sprawl can also be defined as a side effect of free and accessible public cloud. In this article, we'll take a look at the effect of cloud sprawl and how it can be solved.<\/p>\n Cloud Business Reviews (CBR), a website that provides news and analysis on various cloud-related topics, has verified that cloud sprawl is a widespread phenomenon which is occurring as a result of large-scale use of applications and services powered by the cloud. It takes place mainly when employees of an organization use cloud-based apps<\/a> or services recklessly and without the knowledge or authorization of the company's IT department. It can be said that as the market for global cloud services and apps is increasing, new challenges are being faced by the cloud industry, one of which is cloud sprawl.<\/p>\n Cloud sprawl can basically be defined as the uncontrolled usage of an organization’s cloud resources, whether it be availing of cloud services or even providing them. It largely takes place when the organization concerned has zero control over its cloud computing resources.<\/p>\n It has been verified that cloud sprawl is a huge problem in modern times. It has become a very large load on cloud managers and IT department employees. Cloud sprawl is especially problematic as it can seriously hamper a company’s work and greatly complicate IT issues. As a result, all work can be slowed down. In such cases, the managers have to properly supervise the number of apps and services based on the cloud which are being used by the employees. They also have to check the cloud from time to time to ensure that it is not being overloaded and is working smoothly without any lag.<\/p>\n So, just how severe is the impact of cloud sprawl in the modern world? These are some of the results of a survey conducted by Kelton Research. This research was conducted in the months of March and April in 2011. The target countries included 18 countries from which 573 IT managers, CEOs and executives participated. Here are the results:<\/p>\n Additionally, in Europe, according to a survey by Avanade, in about 50 percent of companies employees purchase cloud services without the knowledge of their IT departments. All these figures indicate a serious problem in the future in the form of cloud sprawl.<\/p>\n Suppose that a new cloud storage solution has been released. The employees are eager about trying this new solution, which promises to offer large amounts of storage at a low price. However, their company is planning to implement Box.net for company storage. So, the employees think that as the IT department is so slow in implementing the Box.net solution, they may use a newer cloud solution. They believe that by using the latest solution, they’ll do their work more easily at a lower cost, and without having to wait for the company to upgrade.<\/p>\n Now, the problems can start when the employee simply “forgets” to delete the information before moving to the newer server. This can also result in a serious risk, as it can lead to a leak in the company’s information. This can be especially problematic when an employee is fired or unsatisfied with the company. They can even deliberately leak the information to the public. So, the bottom line is that cloud sprawl happens when your employees don’t like your current cloud solution techniques and want to use other, better solutions.<\/p>\n Though the advent of cloud storage<\/a> and cloud-based apps are essential for a company’s efficiency, it has posed serious problems for the data security of a company. This problem occurs in the form of cloud sprawl. If the cloud-based apps and storage aren’t regulated and supervised properly, cloud sprawl can occur, which can endanger a company’s data. This puts a lot of responsibility on the IT department of the company. It also makes their jobs highly complicated and they have to pay close attention to a number of things. They must do all of these in order to ensure that the employees don’t use cloud storage services other than the company’s own service. Only this can stop the negative effects of cloud sprawl. (For more on cloud security, see 5 Big Cloud Security Features for Enterprise Use<\/a>.)<\/p>\n These steps can help you successfully prevent cloud sprawl in your organization:<\/p>\n It is true that the use of the Internet is ever increasing, and along with it the cloud technologies and services that are available to us. It is also certain that this trend will continue to exist in the near future, considering that society requires data on demand for fast and efficient functioning, and this is largely what cloud services are known to offer. However, cloud sprawl is a serious problem that needs to be countered. Organizations must find ways to control cloud sprawl that are a good fit for their individual needs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In the modern age of cloud computing, cloud sprawl is a major concern worldwide. This is a situation which is created by the overuse of public cloud for various reasons. Cloud sprawl can also be defined as a side effect of free and accessible public cloud. In this article, we'll take a look at the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7870,"featured_media":49317,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[545,548,586],"tags":[],"category_partsoff":[],"class_list":["post-49316","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cloud-computing","category-cybersecurity","category-emerging-technology"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhat Is Cloud Sprawl?<\/span><\/h2>\n
What Is the Impact of Cloud Sprawl?<\/span><\/h2>\n
Some Facts and Figures on Cloud Sprawl<\/span><\/h2>\n
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How Does Cloud Sprawl Occur in Companies?<\/span><\/h2>\n
Why Are IT Managers So Worried?<\/span><\/h2>\n
How to Manage Cloud Sprawl?<\/span><\/h2>\n
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Conclusion<\/span><\/h2>\n