Cloud sprawl refers to the uncontrolled proliferation of cloud services and applications within an organization. It complicates IT and security management, as companies struggle to maintain oversight of their tech environments. According to a Forrester report, nearly 40% of IT and security professionals feel their organizations are losing control due to the increasing number of decentralized applications and SaaS tools.

Cloud sprawl complicates IT management by introducing challenges such as regulatory compliance, support for hybrid workforces, and the management of numerous cloud-based applications. More than half of the surveyed professionals attributed their IT and security management issues directly to cloud sprawl, highlighting the complexities that have emerged over the past five years.

Companies face significant challenges in integrating multiple cloud services due to a lack of interoperability and the desire of cloud providers to keep users within their ecosystems. Observability across different cloud platforms remains a goal that many organizations struggle to achieve, as integration has not been a priority for major cloud providers, leaving startups to fill this gap.