Chris Talbot| Talkincloud
LogMeIn has launched a preview of its AppGuru identity-as-a-service (IDaaS) offering that is intended to help IT professionals redefine their roles in a cloud-centric work environment by putting into place easy onboarding and offboarding of employees, as well as centralized user management.
Even more interesting with this announcement is that LogMeIn is trying to get ahead of the bring-your-own curve. AppGuru will give IT professionals the tools they need to securely manage employee-introduced cloud applications. Rogue cloud deployments (or shadow IT, if you prefer) have been a painful thorn in IT’s side ever since it became possible to subscribe to cloud services with a credit card, but as the business world prepares for an influx of untested apps thanks to the emerging bring-your-own-application (BYOA) trend, IT pros are bound to be looking for easy ways to manage and secure employees’ apps.
According to a December 2012 Edge Strategies report, the BYOA trend is already pretty strong, with 70 percent of companies surveyed reporting active use of employee-introduced cloud apps.
It’s a trend IT professionals will have to deal with—if they aren’t already doing so. But AppGuru is intended to make the transition to a BYOA world simpler and more secure. Additionally, there may be an opportunity for IT professionals—both internal pros and trusted advisers outside the four walls of the business—to change their role from the traditional IT gatekeeper to an enabler and business partner.
“The feedback we have received from our IT customers is consistent: Today’s IT pro isn’t looking to impede the use of employee-introduced technology, and they fully appreciate the benefits of the cloud. The challenge many of them are facing is, as their role shifts into one of expert adviser and partner to the business, traditional approaches to user management, provisioning and security are often ill-suited for these new dynamics,” said Michael Simon, CEO of LogMeIn, in a prepared statement.
That’s where AppGuru comes in, Simon said. AppGuru is currently in beta. It is available by requesting an invite from LogMeIn
