What causes shadow IT?

Cloud People & Leadership Process Management +2 more

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CTO in Software, 11 - 50 employees

Shadow cloud is a huge issue and indicative of lack of leadership. If people are going around to use their credit card, you are not serving your development and R&D organization, and you should fix that rather than slap their hands.

2 Replies

CIO Strategic Advisor in Services (non-Government), 2 - 10 employees

Yeah. I think too many people see shadow IT and they immediately say we've got to control that rather than stepping back and saying, "Okay, why is it happening?"

CTO in Software, 11 - 50 employees

It’s about understanding context over a control. You're never going to play whack-a-mole on shadow IT or shadow cloud.

CIO Strategic Advisor in Services (non-Government), 2 - 10 employees

What happens when you take a pebble and you put it in a river? The water just finds a way to go right around it. The same thing is true with shadow IT. I think it happens for one of two reasons. In one scenario, which is probably more common, something is wrong within the IT organization and that pebble isn't cutting it. And so the organization is just working right around it. The second example is those who embrace shadow IT and see it as either a source of innovation or an opportunity to extend the organization. In this case, it tends to be very transparent and very forthcoming. Organizations that have gone down that path have derived a lot of value from doing so. I think the first one shows a degree of immaturity in the organization, quite frankly, and other issues around relationships and culture. The second shows a degree of very positive maturity and saying, "Look, maybe we can't do it all as an IT organization. And so we're going to bring our brothers and sisters together, and say, ‘how can we do this more collaboratively?’"

1 5 Replies

Digital Transformation Architect in Software, 10,001+ employees

Have you ever seen that get reigned back in? When we let everybody go off and work collaboratively... I think once the genie's out, it's not coming back in.

CIO Strategic Advisor in Services (non-Government), 2 - 10 employees

Yes and no. In the two examples that I can think of, where it is a very collaborative environment, it's a conscious decision by all the parties involved. But in both cases, they have a governance model that says when it gets to a certain point, that does come back into IT. But at that point, IT is engaged and aware and involved in it. People are welcoming IT to be involved in the process rather than doing it out of a source of necessity.

CTO in Software, 11 - 50 employees

I think that's a proper governance model. If you can cross this threshold, we'll have a conversation where I guess the risks will help you negotiate a better contract or whatever.

Senior Information Security Manager in Software, 501 - 1,000 employees

Often it is due to lack of oversight.

An effective way to limit shadow IT is to let staff know that any software purchased or cloud service used without approval from the IT & security departments will not be reimbursed.

1 1 Reply

CIO Strategic Advisor in Services (non-Government), 2 - 10 employees

I disagree. We have to look beyond going to a command and control paradigm. That's often why departments are looking elsewhere. We need to understand why they are and find ways to collaborate and engage them in a productive way. This isn't a competition, IT and the department are part of the same company.

Shadow IT is not something that should be feared. It should be something that is supported...in the right way. If it is being used to go around IT, don't punish those doing it, look inside to understand the reasons why...and how to change it.

CIO in Education, 1,001 - 5,000 employees

Inability to deliver or lack of alignment with overall IT vision and direction.

Chief Information Officer in Manufacturing, 10,001+ employees

Shadow IT happens when the current IT Staff don't have the right skills to support, don't have the resources to support, or just plain say "It's not my job" to support.

Enterprise Interaction Architect in Hardware, 10,001+ employees

Brittle applications