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Hybrid IT For Dummies, HPE Special Edition 18 These materials are © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Any dissemination, distribution, or unauthorized use is strictly prohibited. Although IT departments are being pressed to provide more control to end users, that control only extends so far. There is no expectation that the finance department will suddenly start creating logical unit numbers (LUNs) or that sales will begin to create administrative user accounts. But these groups should be able to access resources in a sufficient enough way to be able to meet their goals. Centralizing security control Perhaps one of the biggest areas that should remain strictly within the confines of IT is security control. Given the preva- lence of new and dangerous attacks on infrastructure, desk- tops, and everything else these days, security is too important to ignore or distribute to users. By maintaining a centralized security posture, organizations can ensure that there is consistency in policy and application of policy. Plus, the services that are allowed to be performed by end users themselves can be restricted behind the scenes to those that are safe to perform and that won't impact other areas of the environment. Internet of Things/ Device proliferation Depending on who you talk to, by 2020, it is expected that the world will see some 20 to 30 billion (yes, billion with a b) devices connected to the Internet, excluding smartphones, tablets, and computers. The age of the Internet of Things (IoT) is truly upon us, and it's creating new challenges for IT departments as they struggle to figure out how to support the resulting storage and data analysis needs. As was the case when PCs began to supplant mainframes and proliferate throughout businesses, IT departments will have to make fundamental shifts in strategy and infrastructure to cope with such changes. This may include deploying more easily expanded storage systems or leveraging cloud resources to maintain these devices.