PREDICTION 5: INCREASED CONTROL OF SHADOW IT AND GREATER FINANCIAL INVOLVEMENT IN CLOUD
In 2015, the rapid adoption rate of cloud technologies had organizations scrambling to address security concerns; this has remained the priority within the cloud conversation until recently. In 2016 we predict that a shift from a security-only focus to an emphasis on financial management. Now that cloud architecture can be reliably secured, organizations will begin to concentrate more on identifying and controlling costs.
A key part of controlling the costs lies in bringing cloud out of the shadows and into the forefront. The concept of “shadow IT” has been around for decades, but cloud computing has given the term more meaning, weight, and relevance. In 2014 and 2015 we witnessed greater efforts in making businesses aware that shadow IT was increasing due to cloud—and the message has finally been received.Fortunately, a growing number of organizations are beginning to understand this issue and are increasingly investing more in new cloud management tools, such as cloud access security broker technology and cloud expense management solutions, in a concerted effort to address shadow IT.
Shadow IT is still rampant today, but the numbers are dropping within the most mature organizations and we will continue to see a decrease into 2016—but only for businesses that have a formidable cloud strategy in place, have committed to wide-spread cloud adoption, and make the right technology investments. So as the shadow IT aspect of cloud computing becomes less of a concern, financial departments will begin to play a larger role in the management of cloud usage. These teams will start to see the benefits of examining cloud contracts under a microscope to ensure that the organization is taking advantage of negotiated terms and that these terms are being honored. This will have a beneficial impact by making cloud computing more financially rewarding as organizations begin to spend more on Software as a Service (SaaS).
ABOUT TANGOE
Tangoe (NASDAQ:TNGO) is a leading global provider of IT Expense Management software and services to a wide range of global enterprises and service providers. The Matrix is Tangoe’s technology and services platform designed to help companies transform the management of IT assets, services, expenses, and usage to create business value, increase efficiency, and deliver a positive impact to the bottom line.
Additional information about Tangoe can be found at www.tangoe.com.
