Technology has undergone a seismic shift due to cloud app use. Businesses have gained efficiency, while at the same time tech pros have gained a few more headaches from new security risks. Activity outside of a network admin’s grasp is growing faster than ever predicted.
Companies are just beginning to understand the importance of cloud security, which is security through an API integration as opposed to a perimeter. Deeply integrated cloud security might sound new since as recently as only two years ago the cloud security industry was valued at $5 billion. But this estimate is projected to double within the next 3 years! This explosion in cloud app use definitely comes with growing pains. When it comes to cloud security, businesses are experiencing what many parents experience with a new generation of children. Let me explain…
In high school, you either knew or were the kid with super strict parents. At some point, those kids broke free and when they did, they ran wild. Modern networks are just like that. Executives have imposed processes and expectations for how their employees should conduct business digitally. There can be a supermax-like digital perimeter firewall, but it makes no difference to the employees. Strict rules be damned! Once an employee uses cloud apps, they have free reign to do whatever they want. Out of sight of IT, they take unnecessary risks with sensitive business data.
Businesses need to think about digital security with more depth and maturity. In a distributed office environment, perimeter security isn’t really secure.
Too Fast, Too Loose
On the opposite end of the parenting spectrum, there were the parents who let their kids do whatever they want. As a kid, you might have thought that was awesome. As a parent, you are now horrified that you thought that was awesome. Way too many businesses are in this camp. They’d rather not know what their employees are doing online and would rather assume it’s fine. The problem is that using cloud apps is increasingly “not fine,” and you don’t want to have a “not fine” moment intersect with your bottom line. Reality has a way of catching up with the purposefully naive.
A Cool but Stern Parent
Cloud security is becoming popular because tech executives are learning how to balance the productivity and collaboration benefits of cloud apps with the risks. They tip that balance to achieve security within reason. Security doesn’t have to be hard, but you do have to know what’s necessary and what isn’t. As cloud security becomes easier to use and more affordable, businesses are adopting and adapting. Security pros know that they can’t cage cloud apps with traditional perimeter security, so they tame them with API-based security solutions instead.
Cloud Security Can be Easy
Here at ManagedMethods, our goal is simple: Make a great product that is easy to setup, easy to use and most importantly, effective! Sprinkle on top the fact that we do not use a proxy, don’t deploy any agents and are invisible to the end users, we’ve created a solution that makes cloud security easy. If you want, we can work with your existing network security investments (assuming your company has taken those steps). Combine it all with strategic partnerships with some of leading security vendors, making our cloud security offering not only easy but attractive too!
So don’t fret! It’s not too late to change and adapt your parenting style to be cool and stern without sacrificing the relationship with your team!
See how we make Cloud Security Easy: Watch this brief video and then request your free trial.
