Some IT teams move to the cloud without business oversight or direction

27% of IT teams in the financial industry migrated data to the cloud for no specific reason, and none of them received financial support from management for their cloud initiatives, according to Netwrix.

Moreover, every third organization that received no additional cloud security budget in 2019 experienced a data breach.

Other findings revealed by the research include:

• 56% of financial organizations that had at least one security incident in the cloud last year couldn’t determine who was at fault.
• 31% of organizations would consider moving data back on premises due to concerns about security, reliability and performance, and high costs.
• Interest in broader cloud adoption has faded in the financial sector since last year. The number of organizations ready to adopt a cloud-first approach dropped by 16% and the number eager to move their entire infrastructure to the cloud fell by 12%.

“To ensure investments in cloud technologies deliver maximum value and to keep data secure, financial organizations should align their IT initiatives with business goals. This can be achieved when management and IT staff build strong communication with one another, so the IT team receives the support required to establish an effective cloud security strategy,” said Steve Dickson, CEO of Netwrix.

“Cloud adoption affects many roles and departments, forcing them to change the way they operate. Each impacted individual is likely to perceive a different set of benefits, risks and challenges.

“The finance department will favor benefits related to cost savings, while application development will prioritize access to new technologies that can enhance application workflows. Such misalignment on business drivers and associated challenges, and the lack of a coordinated effort, can put cloud adoption at risk.

“Without organizational consensus, certain decisions will likely be called into question and will have to be revisited, introducing delays in the adoption process,” — Gartner, Designing a Cloud Strategy Document, Marco Meinardi, June 13, 2019.