As the perils of COVID-19 decline, the risks of “shadow IT” rise for companies of all types and sizes. And any technology strategy for a post-pandemic hybrid working environment must account shadow IT.

First, what’s shadow IT? Gartner says simply: “IT devices, software and services outside the ownership or control of IT management.”

Next, why is shadow IT risky? Here are three reasons gleaned from recent research:

As many as 8 of every 10 workers may be practicing some form of shadow IT.
Analysts suspect as much as 40% of an organization’s technology spending may occur outside the formal IT budget.
Nearly 80% of employees acknowledge introducing unauthorized tech to their workflow is a significant cybersecurity threat (but they do it anyway – see #1.)

So, where will you see shadow IT? CompTIA’s blog cites common sources; here are three biggies posing problems of unnecessary expense and/or ineffective control:

File Storage: Are employees using consumer cloud apps instead of back-up solutions vetted by IT?
Email: Typical users have three addresses. One for business. Another for personal. Both supported by company tech in some way, increasing IT management, maintenance and monitoring requirements to some degree.
BYOD Programs: Yes, bring-your-own-device policies save some equipment costs. But other costs – such as extending cybersecurity practices to personal hardware — may offset savings.

Now, how do you cope? TeamLogicIT Plano has services and support for that. Give us a call at (469) 573-3743 or go to our website teamlogicitplanotx.com to learn more.