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The rapid adoption of cloud-based platforms such as Google for Work and Microsoft Office 365 may largely be driven by the promise of improved productivity, but the tools can also enable administrators to take on more influential roles in their organizations. The emergence of cloud IT is helping IT administrators become more proactive decisions-makers, rather than reactive troubleshooters, according to a new survey from BetterCloud, a company that sells IT administrative tools for both Google for Work and Office 365.

IBM today rolled out new services geared to helping developers create analytics-driven cloud applications.

Jon Stewart's "The Daily Show" on September 3 pounded on a number of us who had argued that a big part of the problem with the iCloud photo leak scandal was that you shouldn't put naked pictures into a public cloud service.

Box will begin rewarding developers who create applications that use its cloud storage platform.

The shift to cloud computing underway across the federal government could eventually move from commodity functions to custom business apps

Government CIOs in states and local districts increasingly are looking to push applications to the cloud, but security and a reliable user experience remain principal challenges, a new survey reports

CIOs are quickly losing control of the applications and platforms their employees choose to use at work. Personal preferences for cloud-based apps from Google, Box and Slack, among others, have spilled into the workforce at an astonishing rate during the past 18 months. Unsanctioned apps and services can negatively impact workflow, productivity and the general health of a company, but the potential damage can be offset with the right IT mindset, support and flexibility.

As recently as five years ago, setting up a new business and equipping it for a PC-literate workforce was a costly affair. You needed to acquire server hardware and pay various software licensing fees.

Rogue cloud services are ripping gaping holes in the security fabric of most companies, putting the CIO in a tough spot. But as the fallout from the Target attack shows, IT and business leaders will go down together if the breach hits the fan.

As cloud apps become more business-critical, the CIO is emerging as the cloud services broker. In this new IT model, which is expected to expand rapidly in the next 12 months, CIOs can push cloud service providers to deliver detailed SLAs.