Organisations shouldn’t surrender to or ignore shadow IT. Rather, they should leverage it to bring new solutions forward and IT teams should be the best equipped in a business to help with technology transformation.
Organisations that learn from shadow IT, rather than trying to suppress it, are more likely to succeed in today’s disruptive environment.
Those that are not openly disruptive can experience covert disruption in the form of shadow IT*, which is when IT systems and solutions are built and used inside an organisation without explicit organisational approval. A recent Gartner report suggests shadow IT regularly surpasses 30% of a company’s IT spend.* The rise of shadow IT has been fuelled by a combination of the growth of BYOD (bring your own device) and an increasing millennial workforce, creating demand for easy, on-the-go IT solutions that deliver immediate results.
Shadow IT is another form of digital transformation by stealth. If employees are implementing technology without the IT team’s involvement, or if the IT team is viewed as a roadblock to innovation, it risks being disintermediated by its own organisation.
IT professionals can react in a variety of ways. From what we’ve seen, those that surrender to the business are trying to deal with the aftermath of new and unsanctioned business applications. This can include integration issues and security risks that create many hours of work to remediate.
Those that deny the issue and hold the line with process and policy are being bypassed in important IT decisions. Some, however, have pushed through the necessary changes and have built an enviable digital platform, influenced by the shadow IT and underpinned by modern tools, processes, and capabilities.
Teams that use the learnings of shadow IT to build a customised digital platform for their business can be more successful than their counterparts. This is because the shadow IT mindset encourages IT professionals to be more agile and responsive to business and customer needs. Integrating the skills of staff across the business can reduce the burden on the IT team. The extra assistance and innovative perspectives can help the business achieve faster turnaround times than if external contractors are involved. It also enables faster go-to-market strategies.
Organisations shouldn’t surrender to or ignore shadow IT. Rather, they should leverage it to bring new solutions forward. IT teams should be the best equipped in a business to help with technology transformation.
By starting small and growing a modern, agile DevOps practice, you can bring your team and the business along on a successful IT transformation journey. This mentality can help you find the best solutions and bring the best technology and platforms to your business to enhance daily operations and productivity.
Fronde recommends businesses should mitigate risk by updating their acceptable usage policies, incorporating trends such as home working and BYOD. Encourage employees to adopt and get the most out of the business tools of choice in a secure and productive manner. This lets the organisation think innovatively and simultaneously manage security risks.
*http://www.channelweb.co.uk/crn-uk/news/2422814/attempts-to-curtail-shadow-it-futile-says-gartner
James Valentine, CTO, Fronde
