November 19, 2024 at 06:35AM
Shadow IT arises when employees use unapproved software to enhance productivity, bypassing cumbersome processes and security mechanisms. This trend persists even in small startups and can be exacerbated by no-code/low-code tools, which can create custom applications that interact with unauthorized systems, posing security risks while potentially enhancing visibility for IT teams.
### Meeting Takeaways on Shadow IT and Citizen Development
1. **Definition of Shadow IT**: Shadow IT refers to the use of software and applications that are not officially approved by an organization’s IT department, often adopted by employees seeking better productivity tools.
2. **Prevalence in Organizations**: Shadow IT is not exclusive to large enterprises. Small startups also face challenges with employees using unapproved tools alongside officially sanctioned software, driven by personal preferences and the need for efficiency.
3. **User Preferences and Tool Usage**: Employees tend to stick with familiar tools (e.g., Office suite vs. Google Workspace), leading to parallel usage and complicating IT governance.
4. **Security Risks**: Existing security measures (like license approvals and endpoint restrictions) are often insufficient against shadow IT, as users can easily circumvent them by paying out of pocket for desired software.
5. **Growth of Unapproved Features**: Purchasing enterprise software such as Office 365 or Salesforce can inadvertently empower users to create their own applications via low-code/no-code features, which may not meet corporate policy standards.
6. **Limitations of Discovery Tools**: While tools exist to discover unapproved software, they often lack contextual understanding of how these tools are used and their importance to business functions.
7. **Need for Input from Employees**: Attempting to create a complete mapping of shadow IT by asking users about their tool usage may not yield comprehensive results, as priorities may differ between employees and management.
8. **Citizen Development**: Business users, known as citizen developers, utilize low-code/no-code tools to create applications that help them in their daily operations, often linking these apps to shadow IT systems directly.
9. **Visibility through Citizen Development**: By embracing citizen development, organizations can improve visibility into what software and applications are being used, enabling better management of shadow IT.
10. **Mitigating Risks**: While citizen development offers opportunities for better integration and efficiency, it also presents security risks that must be managed to safeguard corporate data.
11. **Actionable Steps**: Companies should consider strategies that allow for the safe and efficient use of shadow IT and citizen development, ensuring appropriate security measures are in place to mitigate risks associated with unapproved applications.
These takeaways highlight the critical considerations surrounding shadow IT and citizen development in organizations, emphasizing the balance between productivity and security.