Cloud sprawl refers to the uncontrolled proliferation of cloud applications and services within an organization. According to a Forrester report, nearly 40% of IT and security professionals believe their companies are losing control over their tech environments, primarily due to the increasing number of enterprise applications and decentralized app management. This complexity can undermine IT and security management.

Cloud sprawl complicates IT management by introducing new challenges such as regulatory compliance, support for a hybrid workforce, and the management of cloud-based app sprawl. More than half of the surveyed professionals attributed their IT and security management issues directly to cloud-related complexities, indicating that managing public cloud and SaaS environments has become significantly more complex than it was five years ago.

Integration challenges arise because cloud providers often prioritize their own platforms over interoperability with other clouds. Forrester Principal Analyst Lee Sustar noted that while users are pushing for better integration, it is not a primary focus for cloud providers. This has led to the emergence of startups that aim to facilitate management across multiple cloud environments, as the major providers tend to keep their ecosystems somewhat isolated.