CIO: Cloud Warning

Are you aware that your staff are using Skype and other free collaboration tools to communicate across and beyond the organisation? Perhaps you are and accept that this is a reality of business today and actually makes good economic sense.

Well picture this? A customer has complained about the behaviour of a member of staff. This has ‘gone legal’. There is now money and reputation on the table. Your lawyers ask you to provide details of all communication transactions associated with the employee.

Do you have an agreement with Skype or Google for them to provide you with this data? Well if not then you will most likely be the reason your organisation takes a financial and reputational battering.

The Cloud represents a major change in the dynamic between users and the IT function. If you do not manage this carefully you may well find your self caught up in a career storm.