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Why Sharetru?
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Employees are not completely satisfied with the IT solutions provided to them at your organization. They find them difficult to use and probably don’t even know the entire gamut of features and capabilities that exist for their benefit. All they know is that they need to get their job done -- quickly and with the least amount of headaches.
So, how are they coping?
They’re downloading and using applications that work best for them, including consumer-grade cloud and file-sharing services. These solutions seem to be helping them work faster and smarter. The problem? They’re using these options without the approval of your IT department.
If you don’t have control over the applications and software your people are using on their work computers and devices, your organization is facing serious security and compliance risks.
By staying in the dark about what IT solutions your employees are using, you’re contributing to the problem. It’s time to find out why Shadow IT is happening in your organization, how you should approach the issue and what you can do to prevent it from occurring again.
Access your free template for building an effective data security and IT compliance policy.
“Shadow IT describes IT systems or solutions used within an organization without the approval, or even the knowledge, of corporate IT. This is often referred to as the consumerization of IT. Armed only with a credit card and a browser, anyone can purchase low-cost subscription licenses and have a new application up and running in no time at all. Importing corporate data and integrating with other enterprise applications can also be achieved, without IT having any involvement or even awareness of new systems.” (Computer Weekly)
One prominent contributor to Shadow IT is the increasing presence of BYOD, or “bring your own device,” in today’s business environment. Many organizations allow employees to work from their own devices, for a variety of advantageous reasons. But if your IT team doesn’t have the means to govern these devices appropriately and manage the security risks, there’s great potential for sensitive business information to be compromised.
Another factor in the pervasiveness of Shadow IT is the popular use of cloud and file sharing services like Dropbox in lieu of the systems that IT departments set up and manage. Again, without having the proper security and compliance protocols in place to govern these applications, your critical business data is in danger of being mishandled and breached.
According to a related Cisco survey:
“Shadow IT is more prevalent than most CIOs care to admit or believe, but the problem goes deeper. Fragmentation of IT resources often leads to a perverse cycle of stagnation that is difficult to break or even notice. It soon promotes the view of IT as a barrier, not a partner, to getting things done.” (Apps Tech News)
It may become easy for employees to disregard the approval of the central IT department when opting for software applications that facilitate their jobs. If they perceive existing IT solutions to be difficult or tedious, their attempts to circumvent those systems might not feel inappropriate to them. But it’s absolutely essential to derail this attitude.
Approvals for software usage enable the IT department to regulate and monitor applications in order to safeguard against potentially costly and harmful security attacks and compliance violations. In addition, they allow the IT team to ensure cohesive IT systems throughout the organization and preclude an influx of disconnected processes across the business. Without visibility into and control over the software selections used by employees, your IT professionals are limited in their ability to maintain a strategic, efficient, secure and scalable IT infrastructure.
The first step in overcoming the challenges of Shadow IT is gaining a complete understanding of why it exists in the first place. You must find out what your users are trying to accomplish with their own unauthorized IT solutions and then equip them with improved options that meet those needs -- while maintaining critical levels of security and compliance. For example, FTP Today’s WebApp is just as easy as Dropbox but is considerably more secure.
Next, education is key. Employees need to be fully comfortable with the options available to them, so make sure they know how to take advantage of all the features and benefits offered by your sanctioned IT systems. If they can achieve their desired efficiencies and ease of use, there’s no reason for them to procure their own solutions.
Once you have the proper IT and education in place, develop a set of guidelines that govern the use of technology in the workplace, including consequences for those who choose to violate your IT usage policy. Ultimately, heading off Shadow IT is about getting all users on board with the necessary security precautions and allowing the IT department to administer the proper technologies.
Has Shadow IT crept up in your organization, posing a threat to your security and compliance? Build an effective data security & IT compliance policy by downloading our free Data Security and IT Compliance Policy template.
Access your free template for building an effective data security and IT compliance policy.
