The proliferation of digital tools often gives rise to various challenges within organizations. Among these is shadow IT (1). As the head of IT, you bear the heavy responsibility of maintaining control over the IT environment to improve its performance, security, and data governance. To do so, your mission—should you choose to accept it—is to regain control over shadow IT. Here’s how.
Shadow IT: The CIO's Nightmare
Shadow IT refers to digital tools that are integrated into an organization’s IT infrastructure without the approval of the IT department — even though it is responsible for ensuring their security and operational readiness. This phenomenon is common in most companies: on one hand, there is the “official” IT system, which includes approved general-purpose and line-of-business software; on the other, there are all kinds of applications that employees install and use without informing the CIO.
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Very often, these are applications that address a need not met by the software made available to them, or at least not satisfactorily. Employees find these tools to be daily allies, helping them optimize their productivity or streamline certain tasks. The applications deployed in this way are generally state-of-the-art, user-friendly, easily accessible, and “mobile-friendly”… Although they are considered effective by employees, they potentially represent a risk to the company.
In fact, using these unregulated apps can lead to a variety of problems, ranging from minor glitches to serious issues.
- Lack of informationdue to restricted circulation
- Internal processes not followed
- Lack of compliance that harms the company’s reputation (GDPR, etc.)
- Leakage, loss, and theft of strategic or confidential data
- Security vulnerabilities, or even cybercrime
Fortunately, there are solutions available for CIOs concerned about shadow IT.
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Shadow IT: Should It Be Banned?
To combat shadow IT and bring order to their IT systems, some companies choose to simply and easily block access to any unvalidated solution by the CIO. The applications subject to these restrictions are primarily social media and instant messaging platforms, which are known to be prime targets for malware… and the leading cause of employee unproductivity…
However, is this strategy really effective? At DAMAaaS, we are convinced that users will always find a way to get around the ban! We saw this during the health crisis, with the sudden rise of remote work: when the CIO doesn’t provide employees with the tools they need to collaborate effectively from a distance, they find solutions on their own. This only fuels misunderstandings between the parties involved…
A failure to listen to and address the needs expressed by employees can only undermine the relationship between IT and business units. Experience shows, however, that it is actually improving! In fact, the CIO tends to position themselves as an ally of the business units, open to their requests. It is therefore more beneficial for you to support employees in adopting and selecting the right tools, rather than turning a blind eye to their needs.
Why not, for example, create a truly digital workplace to enable them to build solutions tailored to their needs?
Controlling shadow IT: What if the CIO were in charge?
To prevent employees from using tools without your knowledge, you can take the following steps: provide them with a toolkit which fits perfectly into their daily lives. This type of solution, which offers build apps without coding (excluding mobile platforms), in just a few days, allows you to address a wide range of business challenges. In this way, you can gradually but surely establish a digital workplace. In other words, a single, shared digital workspace bringing together all the tools and processes your employees need to do their jobs.
No-code platform With its wide range of possibilities, the DAMAaaS environment boosts collaboration and productivity. It easily fills the gaps in business needs: your employees work with solutions they love, featuring modern design and user-friendly interfaces, all under optimal security conditions. The bonus? DAMAaaS enables interconnections, APIs, and other connectors with existing components of corporate IT systems (ERP, CRM, etc.).
To significantly reduce shadow IT, the key is to put business users back at the center of your focus and reinvent their work environment. If you don’t take the time to consider their needs, shadow IT will undoubtedly continue to grow. Would you like to see in more detail what DAMAaaS can do for you?
(1) Shadow IT refers to information and communication systems developed and implemented within organizations without the approval of the IT department. (Wikipedia)
