Let’s face it, by whatever name or brand we may like to refer to it, we all use cloud computing in one form or another. Whether it’s our Gmail account, streaming videos on YouTube or our beloved Facebook, rarely a day goes by without almost all of us utilising the cloud.

In the IT and business industries, of course, the cloud performs very different functions. It is a key weapon in the arsenal of all companies, startups and blue chip alike, offering improved visibility, flexibility and efficiency within their business processes. Unsurprisingly therefore, as we at The Cloud Circle know very well, knowledge about the cloud in a professional capacity is growing all the time.

But the cloud is no longer something confined to the dark abyss of IT departments, like the way it is depicted in popular television comedies. Now it is becoming part of the mainstream. It is something which the vast majority of people are taking advantage of in both their work and private lives.

Laptops, smartphones and tablets are now acting as gateways into the cloud, offering a range of services and apps at our fingertips, things we use in many aspects of our daily lives. And yet despite this consumerisation of the cloud, much of the general public is still blissfully unaware of exactly what cloud computing is.

‘What do you do for a living?’ – it’s a question which people ask a lot. When I reply: ‘I work for a cloud computing community,’ I am already preparing myself for the inevitable next question. ‘What on earth is cloud computing?’ they scoff. Yet sure enough, after a couple of minutes of me endeavouring to explain the cloud to them, it becomes clear that they use it in many functions of their everyday lives.

Nevertheless, regardless of how clued up your average Joe on the street may or may not be, the consumerisation of IT is having an undeniable impact on the widespread use of the cloud. This, in turn, is impacting upon the role of IT departments everywhere. It is a growing trend which is receiving a great deal of attention.

When presenting on the topic at The 3rd Cloud Circle Executive Breakfast Club earlier this month, inTechnology’s Richard Quine told the gathering of senior IT and business personnel that “the technology which consumers are using in their own time is overtaking the technology which people use in the office.
“They may not call it ‘cloud’, they may call it apps or something else, but ultimately people are accessing things in the network. That is cloud computing.”

An increasingly common occurrence in the workplace today is ‘bring your own device’ (BYOD). In other words, employees are able to work from their own tablets or their own laptops in the office rather than having a desktop computer. This luxury is afforded to them because they are able to access the files and software they need to work on via the cloud.

On the plus side, this enables employees to work off devices with which they are comfortable and familiar. They are also able to work off the same device for all the work they do – whether it be in their living room or at their desk – and it saves the organisation having to shell out on PCs. In many ways the consumerisation of IT is enabling workers, who in the past may not have been as ‘tech savvy’, to start being far more innovative with their use of technology.

Whereas there was a time when being well versed in word processing was an achievement worthy of prime position on your CV, now sharing and editing documents online, utilising social media and harnessing the data analysis tools that the cloud offers is what people are boasting about – and even that will soon be passed off as second nature. People’s technological nous is on the up simply because it has to be. So central is IT to our lives, both in terms of the devices we own and the way we use them, that a certain degree of IT knowledge inevitably rubs off.

The result of the rise of peoples’ ability to use IT, complimented by the increasingly commonplace adoption of BYOD, means that people are now able to be far more efficient and innovative in the workplace. The simple tasks such as organising emails and working on collaborative documents remain just that, simple. Meanwhile, the workforce can instead focus on channelling their efforts into new ways to improve workflow and business processes through IT tools and cloud.

However, there are inherent dangers that cannot be ignored. In the world of IT, collaboration and security are everything – a uniform system that works for everyone across the board is essential in the remit of most IT departments. Yet now, with more and more people emailing from their smartphones, working on spreadsheets from their laptops and creating presentations on their tablets, this becomes a far more strenuous task. Writing in the Cloud Computing Journal, Jason Christensen said: “As we move into this exciting new generation of computing, security will have to evolve to meet the needs of this new modern mobile archetype.”

Indeed, ensuring the security of all devices that enter your cloud environment is no mean feat. If people download documents to their own laptop, take them home to work on and then upload them back onto your private cloud then your defence systems will need to be more advanced than if you were simply securing an office full of desktop computers. Identity verification and firewalls will have to evolve to cope with the new demands of a mobile network. You also have to be aware of the fact that working remotely on your own device, such as editing a business critical document while on the train, puts your organisation’s private information into the public sphere, leaving you exposed to theft and peoples’ prying eyes.

The effects of the consumerisation of IT are impacting on the role of IT departments all over the world in other ways, too. The cloud is a tool that empowers all levels of an organisation. It is placing greater power at the finger tips of the end user and now that IT is becoming more consumerised they are able to take full advantage of this power. As a result of this the IT department is becoming more than a support service for faulty printers, it is now becoming aligned with business strategies and must be more proactive in finding ways to improve business processes while also help drive down costs (as ever).

The IT department’s job is not made any easier by the shift in expectations of what their colleagues come to expect from technology either. People expect the hardware and software they use in the office to match that which they use at home. Increasingly, people are finding, it doesn’t. We are witnessing an inability for workplace technology to keep pace with the consumer technology that users enjoy in their personal lives. As Simon Gale, chief technology officer of IBM workplace services, says: “Generation Y are coming into the workplace and demanding the same flexibility they’re use to in their own life. The question is, ‘why not just let them use their own devices?’ It increases job satisfaction and saves the company money on devices.”

This is resulting in more people taking matters into their own hands and syncing their work emails through their own phones, using software they are more familiar with or working off their own newer versions of licensed products on their own more advanced devices. The IT department now has the unenviable task of making sure all this works together and that the company’s data remains secure throughout.

IT departments have to be especially vigilant now the cloud is around too. Before, they were the gatekeepers – any tech implementations had to go through them, both because of the technological knowhow needed and the sign off on cost. However, now the software-as-a-service model is maturing rapidly, the ‘non-techies’ have got to grips with it. If they want a particular computer programme there’s a growing chance that they’ll just buy it and install it themselves and charge back the receipt on a credit card. This could create all sorts of problems just for version control and business continuation strategies alone, disregarding the question of whether the application itself is safe and where it comes from.

So as society becomes ever more tech savvy with its smartphones, tablets and constantly improving laptops, a ripple effect is there for all to see. Firstly, the cloud is now an essential part of peoples’ everyday lives – the services they are use to are often delivered through the cloud, even if they are unaware of it. Secondly, as the bond between man and device strengthens so too does the knowledge of how to use it. As a result, people are far more competent when it comes to IT which, with the other benefits the cloud offers for remote access from your own devices, allows the workforce to become far more efficient and innovative. This introduces new challenges for the IT department and organisation as a whole when it comes to securing its data across such a diverse, mobile network. Ignore those challenges at your peril, lest that shiny new iPhone change from being your best friend to your company’s worst nightmare.

If you have any experiences or views you would like to share, please do not hesitate to leave a comment or get in touch via email at dom.pollard@thecloudcircle.com