What is Cloud Sprawl?

Cloud sprawl is the result of uncontrolled growth of an enterprise’s cloud presence and instances. It occurs due to inadequate control and management of an organization’s use of the cloud. Poor planning prior to moving applications or systems to the cloud can also contribute to sprawl. 

Over time, some cloud instances may no longer be in use but continue to be a financial burden when using a public cloud provider. They can also form a type of “Shadow IT” that is beyond the control of the IT department and management. Dealing with sprawl is an unavoidable consequence of using the cloud. It presents dangers to your organization but can be minimized or eliminated with proper oversight.

What Are the Dangers of Cloud Sprawl?

Cloud sprawl can negatively affect an enterprise in a variety of ways. Some of them include:

Security and Compliance risks - Cloud sprawl can lead to instances or applications that are not under the same level of internal controls required to maintain security. This can easily occur with development systems that are not properly removed after they are finished being used. Critical business software can be left floating around the cloud, creating a security vulnerability.

Using SaaS solutions beyond IT’s control - The ease with which employees can make use of free cloud services may influence them to use an unapproved but apparently more convenient IT solution. This type of activity can expose the organization to additional security risks. Data transmitted through these platforms will necessarily not be under the same controls as when using approved systems.

Financial Costs - Your company’s bottom line will surely be affected by cloud sprawl as your organization pays for services that it never needed or those that have already served their purpose. Trimming these extra resources can lead to substantial savings.

How You Can Address Cloud Sprawl

There are a number of actions that can be taken to help address the issue of cloud sprawl. Implementing them to varying degrees can help your organization control its cloud costs and reduce the sprawl.

• Institute a single-pane control panel which will enable you to easily monitor all of your systems from one place. This makes it less likely that duplicated processes will be retained or that rogue cloud instances can proliferate. 
• Employ a unified cloud-delivery platform that allows you to remain organized when using multiple cloud providers. Sprawl is very common in these types of implementations. The ability to monitor all of your cloud services through a unified platform can go a long way toward understanding and controlling cloud sprawl in your organization.
• Conduct periodic audits of your cloud services. Make sure that you include storage, applications, and cloud instances in your review. The results of your audit may indicate that some services may no longer be needed and can be retired.

 Cloud sprawl is a real phenomenon that may be impacting your company at this very moment. Take the time to review your cloud usage and minimize your exposure to this digital disease.