Last Week in the Cloud: Is It Just Too Easy to Implement Cloud Applications?

We noticed lots of chatter last week about the rise of cloud adoption and how easy implementations (or so they seem at the time) often create problems down the road. It’s true, of course, but nothing that can’t be solved with an empowered IT department steering the ship.

SaaS Adoption on a Tear:

Hollis Tibbetts wrote in ebizQ about how cloud adoption is on a “rampage” in business. Citing a recent report from Gatepoint Research, Tibbetts pointed out some interesting trends:

65% of respondents already have at least one SaaS application in production. The typical company has an average of 2+ SaaS/Cloud applications today, and for those who have a SaaS applications running, they typically have 3-4 of them.

Tibbets tied this rapid rate of adoption to how easy it is for businesses to implement SaaS applications. The beauty of the cloud is in its simplicity — yet intelligent businesses make sure IT is driving this adoption to securely and efficiently manage user identities across all cloud (and on-premise) applications.

Just Too Easy to Implement?

ITBusinessEdge’s Loraine Lawson picked up this ease-of-implementation thread and asks whether SaaS adoption is too easy. Lawson’s point, of course, is that allowing disconnected, often non-technical, employees to install cloud applications jeopardizes IT’s ability to oversee and maintain a coherent system. And she’s right.

The cloud’s great because it is easy to use and implement, but IT must maintain control to over which applications are used, and who has access to them, to prevent an unmanageable, chaotic IT system. And that makes identity and access management key.

All Benioff, All Cloud, All Week

In other news (as if you could somehow miss it) Dreamforce kicks off tomorrow in San Francisco. We’ll be at the show - booth 1423 - so if you’re in town, be sure to stop by and saw ‘hello.’

Until next time…