IT professionals increasingly find that when working with cloud based networks, they must find ways to verify authorized users and make sure that the correct user is getting access to the correct information. One method that identity firms have started implementing is using social networks to manage identities and data control. When a user logs in with a social network profile, access to more than just a user name and password becomes accessible to corporations. While users may use settings in their social networking platform to prevent sending private information, many users simply accept the terms and login. The convenience of logging in without the need for a new user account supersedes the need for privacy.

According to NetworkWorld.com, data systems are mined by companies to determine whether or not a person should be allowed permission to access specific areas. But when that data mining includes social user networking, and pulls information from social media sites, the loss of personal information security becomes even more pronounced. This data control has far-reaching implications.

According to The New York Times, corporations are increasingly providing access to identity companies to offer user analysis. As an increasing number of mobile devices access networks, this has become an important element of data management for the IT professional. Organizing information and preventing unauthorized access requires an increasingly vast array of resources.

Small businesses don't have to worry as much about data control concerns since there are fewer users accessing the company networks. As a company grows into a midsized business, the amount of data and number of user logs continue to grow. IT professionals can benefit by including identity companies in their arsenal, especially when businesses move everything to the cloud. In hardware based setups, users are restricted to physical computers. As vital company information moves to the cloud, the potential for unauthorized access to sensitive files becomes more problematic.

When IT professionals integrate a social login procedure for employees, more information becomes available about the user. The birth date, friends in the user's network, and other personal information that the user has elected to share becomes available when the user logs into a social networking site.

IT professionals must grapple with issues of personal information security, data control and how much they want to let an identity corporation integrate into the company structure. Granting access to outside users creates extra concerns about user privacy and how much access the corporation has to company information. Cloud computing can give a secure and safe way of storing data, but the more people involved in data dissemination, the more complicated and risky data management becomes.

Cloud-based networks that use social networking authentication make it easier to find employees using specific browsers, work history, coworkers they may talk to outside of work, and whether access was granted to an employee of the company or a new user accessing one of the company's products or services. Keeping all this information straight becomes increasingly complicated for the IT professional in charge of managing data control in a cloud-computing world. Utilizing the services of an identify company and social logins may give a small part of the answer to data management.

This post was written as part of the IBM for Midsize Business program, which provides midsize businesses with the tools, expertise and solutions they need to become engines of a smarter planet. Become a fan of the program on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter.