| | October 20208CIOReviewOUTSHINING SHADOW ITMergers and acquisitions are often part of a company's growth strategy. As new employees come on board, they inevitably bring along their favorite technologies. Just as the fresh nameplates hang on office doors, the IT department will be saddled with a major challenge: shadow IT. Shadow IT refers to the non-standardized software and tools employees use to complete company tasks. The name has an eerie ring to it, but the real danger of shadow IT is that it often leads to expensive redundancies, workflow inefficiencies, and cybersecurity breaches. Whether you're working with newly acquired employees, mobile or field professionals, remote workers, or company mavericks, every technology used across the organization should be approved by the IT department to ensure compliance and safety and to prevent unnecessary expenses. Here are sixways to protect your enterprise from shadow IT. NO. 1: UNDERSTAND THE COMPETITIONYou have to hand it to ambitious employees who want to get their jobs done and will use creativity and whatever solutions they can to do it. As the CIO of a national firm, I've seen many shadow IT scenarios that can cost the organization in terms of dollars and security. SOME OF THE MOST COMMON ISSUES INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING:· Increased costs with multiple subscriptions: Employees buy software without formal approval and expense it. (Example: The company is funding 10 different Dropbox accounts instead of one master account with multiple users.)· Disparate file-sharing solutions: Employees located in different cities needed to find fast ways to share files. Some employees use one solution while another group uses a different one. · Legacy limitations: Sometimes employees are forced to find their own one-off ways to work around legacy solutions that have limited use.· The need for better communication: When data and people are difficult to find, employees may download noncompliant apps or software to assist.· IT takes too long: When the IT department is slow to respond or solve an issue, employees may find ways to fix the issue on their own. Any software or tool that isn't a company standard falls undershadow IT and immediately becomes the IT department's competition. John ParksIN MY OPINIONBy John Parks, EVP & Chief Information Officer, Ansira
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