shadow it - what is it, why it happens and how to resolve

Bringing IT out of the shadows

What is Shadow IT?

The act of purchasing or using technology for the workplace without the approval or knowledge of the IT

department is called Shadow IT.

Examples

• DevOps team purchasing an instance of a caching server to balance load bypassing IT in order to not have users suffer downtime

• Sales team sharing crucial customer data, even internally, using a personal account of Google Drive

• Using an unauthorised pen drive. Yep!

Why does this happen?

• IT Department is considered slow and bureaucratic by business units in some organizations.

• With the market moving at breakneck speed, business units don’t want to wait for IT to fulfil service requests.

• Overzealous employees with (mostly) good intentions

WHY DOES THIS HAPPEN?

The catalysts

• Cloud technology

• eCommerce

• Tech savvy credit card toting managers

• Consumerization of technology

Is the practice of Shadow IT bad?

Business says

NO.

IT says

YES.

We  don’t  have  ,me  to  fill  forms

If  you  don’t  fill  forms,  there  will  be  

miscommunica,on

We  can  do  our  own  tech  research,  thank  you.

We  do  that  too.  And  we  are  paid  to  do  it.

IT  is  s,ll  stuck  in  with  80s  soBware. Stable  soBware,  anyone?

We  have  the  latest  soBware  at  our  

finger,ps

Good  luck  troubleshoo,ng.

I’d  rather  take  ad-­‐hoc  decision  to  keep  

business  afloat  than  wait  for  IT

Following  processes  is  good  for  the  long  term.

Business IT

Business units• The need to get things done ASAP.

• Decentralisation of decision making the norm.

• Decreased bureaucracy

• Lean organisations and flatter hierarchies.

IT say

If IT is expected to help you with your tech, they need to be aware of the techs you use.

If IT is expected to firefight, they also need to define security guidelines to prevent the fires.

Proactive is the way to go. Reactive is so 2004.

Risks involved• Acquisition of software from dubious sources –

download sites, cloud services with poor security

• Ill-researched information leading to bad tech choices

• Bug infested software

• Obvious data security risks

• Risk of malware or virus infiltrating the corporate network

“By 2015, 35% of enterprise IT expenditures for most organisations will be managed outside the IT department’s budget.”

35%Source

How to resolve• Broad-minded CIO

The CIO is to the IT organization what the CEO is to the business.

• Openness of the IT department

Processes should be designed around the business and not the other way round.

• Communication

Let business know the repercussions of bypassing IT. Earn their respect.

• Protect and to serve

After all, IT can’t fight something if we don’t know what we are fighting.

In conclusion• Shadow IT is necessary evil.

• Look at Shadow IT as something that takes burden off IT while ensuring necessary processes are followed.

• IT and business units should work together to ensure a smooth and productive work environment.

Bring IT out of the shadows.

Learn more about managing assets in your organisation here.

This article was originally published in

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