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For instance, seeing Cloud computing in connection with Bring Your Own
Device (BYOD) and social networks, two of the latest IT hypes, can be
particularly exciting as this raises new information security issues.
The first question is why there has been so much hype around BYOD and
how it relates to Cloud computing.
Given the demographic shift, the related lack of qualified experts and the
resultant general employee situation among today's enterprises is now
more important than ever before for enterprises to take the needs of their
employees to heart so as not to lose sight of their target markets. New
employees are attracted to enterprises that have their individual, personal
needs in mind, while long‐time employees expect their employers to offer
an evolving personal working environment that keeps pace with the times.
By now, the use of consumer devices has grown to become part and parcel
of an attractive working environment. An IDC study, from 2010, shows that
about 95% of all employees also use consumer devices. So it is only logical
for them to want those devices to be more integrated into the business
structure. That integration is increasingly made possible by web based
services, which are provided as Cloud services.
One good example is the provision of storage capacity, which can be
accessed through enterprise devices, consumer devices or a range of
general device types. Cloud services make it possible to use these consumer
devices at the same work location. This is also evident from the number of
Cloud users: since the launch of Android‐based consumer devices in 2008,
Public Cloud computing services have grown. While this trend might not be
directly attributable to the new generation of devices, the statistics show a
definite connection.
By analysing different studies on Cloud computing
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one can conclude that
Public and Private Cloud services, in spite of the difference in popularity
between the two Cloud types at present, will converge in the future. The
Hybrid Cloud will therefore be the de‐facto Cloud model of the future.
The proliferation of social networks can be seen as another phenomenon.
While we see different social networks, whose business model is based on
actual 'networking', the 'main players' in this industry see the network as a
means to an end to generate large numbers of users. These are then
marketed as the actual value added. In particular, some networks have
specialised in reusing the identities in their database for authentication
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e.g. Cloud Monitor 2012
