The idea of providing a source for employees to download and install software is not a new one, but it's an idea that has been made part of everyday life through mobile-centric app stores from the likes of Apple and Android. The fact that staff members are accustomed to searching for solutions to their IT problems online and simply either setting up accounts (many of them at no charge) or downloading the programs to their computing devices is both good news and bad news to IT departments.
This familiarity with readily available resources is in part responsible for the rise of shadow IT. Innovative IT managers are finding ways to deliver the resources that users want in safer ways than by simply allowing users to make their own choices without guidance regarding safety and security of the programs available. The idea is to allow flexibility to choose vetted resources so that the employees have freedom of choice and the enterprise has assurance that the choices being made are safe for corporate purposes.
Bob Janssen, CTO and founder of RES Software, believes "automating IT processes will ultimately allow time for greater innovation in enterprises. Many IT departments are facing the issue of users circumventing IT due to their lack of trust in or time to wait on the department. CIOs are left managing the delicate balance between IT functionality and employee expectations, CIOs must be able to:
- Delegate less important tasks to strong teams that support them and leverage automation for ongoing repetitive IT responsibilities.
- Build up a solid track record within the organization as a whole to establish credibility and demonstrate value.
- Proactively engage leaders within the organization in relevant conversations about technology that will affect employees' day-to-day work lives.
This balance of user choice and IT oversight is becoming a viable way to provide enhanced services to an increasingly tech-savvy group of users and reduces the need for IT to react to inappropriate choices."
Read Lee Congdon's article, "CIOs: Don't lose your cool over shadow IT."
Scott Koegler practiced IT as a CIO for 15 years. He also has more than 20 years experience as a technology journalist covering topics ranging from software and services through business strategy. He has written white papers and directed and published video interviews.
