The business side of IT
Shadow IT: the apps your business does not know it uses
A team started sharing files on a free service. Someone else set up a scheduling app. Nobody told IT, and nobody owns the accounts.
1 min readExplainer
The short version
When staff sign up for tools on their own, the business loses track of its data and accounts. The answer is making the approved way easier.
What it is
Shadow IT is any technology used for work without the business knowing about it: free file sharing sites, personal email for work, AI tools, apps bought on a personal card, a spreadsheet that has quietly become the client database.
People rarely do this to cause trouble. They do it because they need to get something done and the approved option is missing, slow or hard to use.
Why it matters
- Data ends up in places nobody controls, often signed in with personal accounts.
- When people leave, they take the access with them, and sometimes the data.
- Security is unknown. No multi-factor authentication, no backup, unknown terms of use.
- Costs pile up in subscriptions nobody tracks.
What helps
- Ask, without blame. Find out what people are using and why. Often it reveals a real need.
- Provide good approved options. If Microsoft 365 already does it, show people how.
- Make requests easy. A quick way to ask for a new tool, with a fast answer, beats a long list of rules.
- Set a simple rule for business data: it goes only into tools the business has approved, signed in with work accounts.
- Review it regularly, because new tools appear every month.
Talk to us about your technology
Tell us what you run today and what is getting in the way. We will get back to you about how we can help.