CIOs Seek Alternatives to Public File Sharing
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CIOs Seek Alternatives to Public File Sharing
By Dennis McCafferty -
Broad Adoption
55% of surveyed IT pros said their organizations use public File Sync and Share (FSS) services such as Dropbox. -
Unsecured State
35% of those surveyed said their organization experienced data leakage incidents over the past year as a result of employees using public FSS services, up from 4% the year before. -
Access Policy
49% said their companies tolerate unsanctioned access to FSS services via employees' mobile devices while issuing guidelines about this usage, while more than one-third said their companies strictly forbid this. -
Either/Or
83% indicate that their organizations have established policies to either sanction the use of specific software as a service (SaaS) file-sharing solutions–or forbid them entirely. -
New Game Plan
31% have implemented an alternative to the use of public FSS–such as an enterprise-based solution/system–up from 6% last year. -
Biggest Drivers of Enterprise-Based FSS
Improved internal collaboration: 51%, Security concerns over public FSS: 45%, File access using mobile/tablet: 34% -
Private Consideration
63% said their organization has either implemented or is considering private or "private" cloud storage gateways, up from 5% last year. -
Top Benefits of Cloud Storage Gateways
Scale, off-site storage, universal access and other cloud-inherent advantages: 71%, Cost savings on file servers and tape backup: 56%, Cost savings on IT overhead and overall total cost of ownership: 56%
CIOs and their teams are seeking enterprise-based alternatives to public File Sync and Share (FSS) services, according to a recent survey from CTERA. The accompanying "2015 Enterprise Cloud Storage Survey" report reveals that employees at most organizations take advantage of public FSS. However, these services often store data outside the typical boundaries of corporate IT governance, which means companies cannot ensure any data controls or service availability. The resulting risk–along with incentives such as improved collaboration–has prompted the evaluation of "private" cloud storage gateways as a viable alternative to public FSS. "IT professionals struggle to control and serve employees that are adopting rogue FSS services, which bring new security and data leakage threats into the enterprise on a daily basis," according to the report. "By circumventing IT to use these services, employees are exposing their organization to numerous issues regarding information governance, which can result in proprietary, legal and regulatory consequences." An estimated 300 U.S. IT pros took part in the study, which was conducted by Research Now.