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These days whenever I ask CIOs about the biggest challenge confronting them, Shadow IT invariably finds a mention. Shadow IT, which refers to information technology products/solutions that find their way into enterprises without the approval from the IT department, is an emerging phenomenon most CIOs are wary of.
The biggest area of concern for CIOs visavis Shadow IT is that of security. By bypassing the CIO’s office and procuring technology solutions directly, corporates stand completely exposed when it comes to security risks. Also, information privacy laws warrant that a CIO gets his arms around it.
While Shadow IT sure gives CIOs sleepless nights, there is another perspective to look at. I recently caught up with William VanCuren, Global CIO, NCR Corporation, on his visit to Delhi.
Providing a fresh approach to Shadow IT, the veteran technology leader with close to three decades of experience at NCR, felt that some amount of shadow IT is okay and healthy for an enterprise.
According to VanCuren, “I think shadow IT is another way to think about innovation inside the company. Ultimately, if it’s going to scale, IT will help the shadow organisation bring it into the controlled environment for serviceability, supportability, scalability, disaster recovery and other services that traditional IT provides.”
VanCuren’s stand has helped NCR as well. For example, at the shop floor, the company got some prototypes that eventually turned out to be enterprise systems. Manufacturing work instructions and the genealogy tracking system at NCR also started out as shadow IT. These applications are today supported by IT across most facilities around the globe.
Shadow IT, therefore, should not be stifled too soon as you might end up killing the innovation happening in pockets within your enterprise. There is yet another way of looking at the trend. It also provides the CIO a window of opportunity to interact with, and understand, the problems encountered by internal users. While IT may be strong on parameters such as budgeting and deploying complex solution, it may be at a loss when it comes to understanding the HR, marketing or sales functions.
So, while the sales team may procure solutions that helps it in generating more leads, the CIO can interact with it to understand the specific needs and come up with its own set of solutions. This approach not only enables a CIO to add value to business but also focuses on his leadership abilities.
The real challenge for a CIO, is therefore, not in how to swiftly clamp down on Shadow IT but in determining and allowing the right amount of it.
Having a controlled IT environment is crucial, but that doesn’t mean that the IT department should own the applications or even the database stacks. However, having said that, a minimal infrastructure standard should be maintained to stay close to it to ensure security and compliance.
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