What people say about their file infrastructure once the badge comes off

This piece highlights the operational and security drag created by inherited file infrastructure: temporary VPNs that became permanent, aging NAS estates, duplicated storage, and shadow file-sharing tools adopted when official systems were too slow. For CIOs and technology leaders, the strategic takeaway is that file services are now a governance, cost, and productivity issue—not just a storage issue—especially as distributed work expands the attack surface and makes access control harder to enforce. IT organizations should expect pressure to modernize file access, reduce duplication, and tighten governance while preserving user experience for distributed teams.