If You Fail to Properly Train Your Staff Regarding the Cloud, They’ll Fail You

It is no secret that the cloud has overwhelmingly improved much of business computing with its innovative features, yet that does not mean the use of cloud technology is free of concerns for a business to consider. In part due to the cloud’s flexibility with solutions, many companies have encountered serious problems that go so far as to put the entire business at risk. What follows are some concerns that businesses that plan to introduce the cloud to their workers will have to consider and prepare to deal with.

Many users have become more accustomed to completing their work tasks in their own specific way, developing particular preferences and doggedly sticking to them. Unfortunately, many of these habits can create security concerns which--thanks to the cloud--can reach out and affect the entire company.

On a basic level, there are concerns about password security. While security is never a subject to take lightly, the stakes are raised when a cloud solution comes into play. For example, an intruder, utilizing a stolen password, can access any company documents and files that the employee associated with that password had access to. While this is not that uncommon of a concern, the risk is multiplied if the employee is lax in following security best practices, such as keeping sticky notes with credentials written out on them for anyone to see, copy, and abuse. Alternatively, some unwitting cloud user may keep a list of their passwords in a non-password protected document that anyone with access to the company network could see, including possible infiltrators.

It’s also important to consider innocent errors that could compound these issues. Employee devices have an unfortunate tendency to go missing every now and again, and without any password protections, there’s another potential access point to your cloud-stored data that (without the proper precautions) is out of your control.

There are also those semi-innocent errors that users make far too regularly, usually where they implement entirely-too-risky solutions not officially approved by your IT department, commonly known as shadow IT. While not necessarily malicious, there are far too many cases in which an unapproved solution caused a workflow issue or introduced malware into a company system for such measures to be worth the risk.

Of course, not all “user fault” lies with the users specifically, but any responsibility the organization has in the difficulties their users face can be resolved with a few simple initiatives.

It all comes down to education. According to CIOInsight, 58 percent of surveyed IT employees were never instructed on how to properly implement and utilize cloud applications, and 39 percent claimed to never have been made aware of the risks associated with downloading apps without the knowledge and approval of their IT resource. A full 44 percent of those surveyed were never informed how to make sure company data was stored and transferred securely. Employees need enough information on company policy to understand the importance of following the lead of IT, but must also be held accountable if they then choose to continue their risk-laden habits.

If your internal IT staff is too concerned with mitigating cloud issues brought on by your users, perhaps enlisting SCW could help. As a supplement to your internal resources, SCW can help resolve the problems present in your systems, freeing up your internal team to innovate and educate your employees. Give us a call at (509) 534-1530 to speak to one of our IT professionals about resolving your cloud issues today.