"Cloud sprawl" refers to the ever-growing use of public cloud-based services and applications such as web email, by individuals within the enterprise, often without the permission of the IT department.
And according to a survey by market research firm Vanson Bourne, IT directors at firms employing over 1,000 are worried about spiraling costs as a result of cloud sprawl. As cloud-based services become more popular across the enterprise, 67 per cent of respondents were concerned about the growing threat of cloud sprawl, the survey found.
The research also showed that 54 per cent of organizations are unsure of how many cloud services their employees are using. This means many organizations are lacking complete visibility of their IT outlook.
"Cloud services are incredibly easy to access and can provide multiple benefits to individual users. However, by not controlling the adoption of cloud services, businesses risk spiraling costs," said James Peel, product manager at Opsview.
According to Peel, firms could be hit with unexpected costs as non-IT staff simply pay for services via their credit card before charging it back to the business, bypassing traditional IT procurement channels.
76 per cent of IT directors admitted employees are likely to flout IT policies in order to make use of cloud services, the survey found. Also, 75 per cent of organisations said they would like more information or metrics to ensure cloud service providers are meeting agreed service levels.