File Sharing Services At Work Popular Despite Ban: Survey

Nasuni, a provider of enterprise storage to large, distributed organisations, released its Special Report on Shadow IT in the Workplace, which revealed that large numbers of employees use Dropbox and other consumer file sharing services for sensitive work-related data, even if they know that their employer has a specific policy banning the use of such services.

Businesses rely on corporate IT teams to manage secure protection and controlled access to critical data. When employees use consumer-grade file sharing services for work files, they override the systems in place and usurp the responsibility of IT. As the flood of consumer mobile devices entering the workplace rises, the risk of data loss and exposure is growing.

Nasuni surveyed more than 1,300 corporate IT users to investigate the use of consumer file sharing services and their connection with the rise of BYOD. Some of the findings include:

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• One in five employees uses Dropbox for work files

• When IT has a policy against using file sharing at work, half of employees use these services even though they are aware that their employer has a policy against it

• Corporate leaders are the worst culprits. VPs and directors are most likely to use Dropbox despite the risks

• Three in five (58 percent) of employees with a personal smart phone or tablet access work files from that device

• Before the end of January 2013, the number personal devices in the workplace will increase by 25 percent.

“Consumer file sharing services and mobile devices have introduced enterprise employees to a new world of powerful, easy to use capabilities,” said Andres Rodriguez, CEO of Nasuni. “And, as our survey demonstrates, because the enterprise has been very slow to roll out services with a comparable value, their employees are using the same services at work that they use to share photos and documents with their friends. As a result, enterprise IT is rapidly losing control of corporate data. It’s a risky proposition that IT needs to be in front of, and not behind.”