Fresh Thoughts #62: Scattered Secrets: How Lockdowns Changed IT and the Way We Think About Security
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Scattered Secrets: How Lockdowns Changed IT and the Way We Think About Security
It's starting to feel like the world is back to normal.
The last vestiges of the pandemic are playing out, and travel restrictions are being returned to pre-pandemic policies.
Living through history has been challenging. But we survived - some of us a little rougher and rounder around the edges... 🙋♂️
Over the coming years, what has changed in this much-touted "new normal" will become clear. But one area I have already seen a substantial pre-/post-pandemic change is in business IT...
Have you noticed how business IT is essentially the same as a coffee shop or serviced office?
What happened?
Rapid Cloud Migration
Let's cast our minds back 3 short years… We were at home - figuring out homeschooling, remote working, and desperately trying to figure out what was happening.
Covid lockdowns in 2020 - were a watershed moment for business IT. They acted as a forcing function to accelerate using cloud applications and services - faster than many anticipated or wanted.
Before the pandemic - your business may have used M365 or Google Workspace for email or login. But in 2020 - Zoom, Teams, or Google Meet - suddenly entered the vocabulary for everyone.
This new way of working with cloud applications was part of a longer, quieter revolution.
For years sales teams tracked their pipeline on Salesforce.com. Finance teams used Xero. Business files were stored and shared via Google Drive, One Drive, or Dropbox. Staff management records were kept in Workday or Hibob.
Return to Office… IT?
While companies continue to figure out their [post-pandemic return to work strategies], the consistent theme remains. You can't assume everyone will be in one place - in the office.
And so - we need to carry on working… with cloud applications. We've passed through a one-way door.
In 2019, we were still talking about Hybrid Cloud. But in 2023, the debate I'm seeing is Cloud First or Cloud Only services and applications. And most people are opting for Cloud Only.
The beauty of Cloud First and Cloud Only ways of working is that it can be done from anywhere - home, the office or a coffee shop. And so - if your team's IT requirements are "an internet connection," all the office IT looks like a waste of money, energy, and space.
The future of office IT looks very similar to “coffee shop IT”.
A laptop, internet connection and a wifi router/firewall.
So how do we secure this new way of Cloud-First and Cloud Only working?
Take a look at my Mental Theft presentation for the answer to that...
April 18, 20232 Minutes Read
