With more and more essential services requiring a Google Account to access them, businesses not operating on Google Cloud Platform or Google Workspace run the risk of losing control over unmanaged user accounts.
To use Google Ads platform, Analytics or create a YouTube channel requires a Google Account. But without an official business Google Account, employees will often set one up themselves to get their jobs done. In the process of doing their job, they end up creating a consumer Google account based on their business identity. The intention is to work more productively and by using a corporate email, employees will often naturally assume that this would be fine to do. However, in the eyes of Google this is considered to be a personal account as it has been created by an individual rather than being issued to them by your business.
There are many risks associated with unmanaged users, for example, when it comes to data security. Data leaks and lack of control over unauthorised access to your data could lead to breaches in GDPR compliance. This puts your business at risk of being fined up to 2% of your company’s entire global yearly turnover. Employees who create personal accounts and leave the business are also a risk with the potential to still act on behalf of the business and access data using the account.
Operationally, you may also see challenges arise in controlling access, verification for third party applications, and lack of entitlement to support services as you would under a business account, to name a few.
If you think your business is running risks associated with unmanaged users, the time to act is now. As time passes, more activity runs through these accounts and as more people leave the business with full control of your data, there is an increased likelihood for more unmanaged accounts to be created.
Luckily, it’s not all doom and gloom. With the right approach you can gain control over unmanaged users and in turn protect your valuable data. For a deeper dive into this topic and to find out how to effectively manage the situation, download our free report today: Unmanaged Users: How much control do you really have over your data?