How to Eliminate Shadow IT
Digital Transformation Calls for Greater IT Financial Accountability
Shadow IT refers to IT projects such as hardware, software, cloud services, applications, and connectivity technology that is not approved or managed by the IT department. This challenge, the CEB estimates, accounts for more than 40% of IT spend and is rapidly growing out of control. This magnified problem is rarely driven by ill-intention, but instead, the need for business unit leaders to serve their customers and stakeholders in the most agile ways possible to get the job done. This most often leverages technology and infrastructure that is not readily available to them. In this modern world shoved too swiftly into digital transformation by pandemics, natural disasters, remote workforce, and the demanding tech-savvy consumers, IT and financial professionals are facing more disparate technology expenses that are impacting their companies’ bottom line. And it’s only going to get worse…
Demand Centralization. You Can’t Fix What You Can’t See
Decentralization isn’t a new challenge, but the infamous “digital transformation” has exacerbated the problem exponentially. Most concerning is that IT and Finance departments aren’t necessarily prepared for the financial consequences. You can’t fix what you can’t see….and you must first acknowledge that there is a problem to start investigating. Shadow IT lurks in the darkest corners, from individual credit cards to endless line items in invoices. It never receives the necessary resources or attention it needs for proper departmental allocation. Further, it causes a lot of tension between the freedom needed by the line of business to drive results and the unified view that IT and Finance need to control expenses and departmental accountability.
Decentralized IT Causes Cybersecurity Risk
There is a scarier and more costly risk of Shadow IT…data security. Increased decentralization of technology yields greater cyber risk. In fact, Gartner estimates that 33% of security attacks will be on technologies that IT is unaware of. If IT is not aware of a technology in use, it has not been vetted or may not be under compliance which can be vital to more regulated industries. In fact, 83% of IT professionals reported that employees stored company data on unsanctioned cloud services. Unprotected mobile devices and other endpoints, networks, software, apps, etc. make your organization vulnerable. It’s important that you educate your employees to understand the risk.
How One Source Alleviates Shadow IT
One Sources is a managed services provider that supports your organization with an end-to-end approach to mitigating Shadow IT. From auditing and identifying expenses in the shadows, to implementing policies and controls moving forward, One Source is your long-term partner to reduce cost and security risk.
Identify and Audit
You can’t fix what you can’t see. Let One Source help you audit your IT Expenses so that you can have the visibility needed to reduce costs.
Management
IT and Finance departments don’t have time to properly review invoices and credit card statements. Get the help you need without adding headcount. It pays for itself and more.
Policy and Controls
Educate your employees about the risks of Shadow IT and put controls in place for more accurate expense allocation.
One Source is an MSP that Can Help
One Source offers fully managed solutions to help prevent Shadow IT and data breaches across hardware, software, and connectivity.
