Work and personal app usage blurs as enterprise users change their habits

The use of the cloud and as-a-service software models is having a big impact on the way businesses operate, but just how is this shift playing out?

Identity management specialist Okta has collected anonymized data from its customers' networks around the world to create the third edition of its Businesses @ Work report looking at how organizations and the people who work for and with them get work done.

Among its findings are that the role of IT is expanding and that the distinction between corporate apps and personal apps is fading away. It's also seeing early signs of a potential shift away from Microsoft Active Directory.

The number of external identities in use is increasing dramatically. External identities grew by 294 percent and 540 percent in 2015 and 2016 respectively. Office 365 remains the number one app in Okta's network, followed by Salesforce and Box. Amazon Web Services has overtaken G Suite for the number four spot, and Slack has jumped from 12th most popular app to eighth in less than a year.

When it comes to the current fastest growing apps, however, video conferencing software Zoom takes number one slot followed by cloud security platform Cisco Umbrella, with Slack in third place, its growth having slowed from 77 percent in the second half of 2015 to 44 percent in the past six months.

Shadow IT continues to grow too, 56 percent of apps used by Okta customers are now not provided by IT, compared to 48 percent in November 2015. While some of these apps (Amazon, PayPal, Comcast, Netflix, etc) are very likely for personal use, others including LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Evernote, and a number of travel sites show a blurring of the line between work and personal.

Writing on the Okta blog, Todd McKinnon CEO and co-founder says, "The distinction between internal and external identities is fading, which is why businesses need a foundation for secure connections between people and technology -- whether their people are employees, contractors, partners or suppliers, and no matter what kind of technology they’re using at work."

You can find out more in the full report which is available on the Okta site.

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