Shadow IT ?

Is there a worst feeling than knowing things may be happening that should be within your control, but aren't?

This is a feeling many CIOs and IT Leaders experience when it comes to Shadow IT. Money and effort is injected into corporate IT Services and Products to help internal users and external customers achieve their goals, but the unknown element is that of knowing people may be (or are) using their own technologies that don't fall under the company umbrella.

The Risks

Other than the obvious security and compliance risks, Shadow IT presents several other potential issues that can escalate unless they are brought under control. Here are some examples -

• Reputational damage

If an error is made through using a non-corporate technology, and this becomes public knowledge, this can cause reputational damage to a company

• Budgeting

If employees are paying for non-corporate technologies through other budgets than the central IT budget, this makes tracking and forecasting IT spend difficult as the figures will be inaccurate

• Service Desk & Support Improvements

Service Desk & Support improvements, such as offering self-help and multi-modal support will not cover additional technologies that fall outside the corporate remit. Companies may need to enter into additional support agreements with external vendors, whilst increasing internal staff numbers, to cope with the impacts of Shadow IT. This further complicates the IT landscape and can hinder the effectiveness and impact of strategic and operational improvement activities

Where does Shadow IT come from?

Mostly, Shadow IT comes from dissatisfaction with the way an IT Department operates, and the technologies and support offered to employees. This is why a focus on reactive, process-led approaches with IT-orientated metrics and measurements needs to be tempered with modern approaches, with a greater emphasis on user and customer orientated approaches and business productivity to strike the right balance.

In addition to the negatives, there are also positives companies can take from Shadow IT, but that's a discussion for another day.

CIO Roundtable

Our next virtual CIO Roundtable will focus on Shadow IT and its impact on Service Delivery, with real-world insights and experiences of CIOs on the front line.

Have a great rest of the week.