Published on the 11/08/2016 | Written by Newsdesk
Learn from shadow IT rather than suppressing it, reckons Fronde…
It seems that like it or not, digital transformation is happening in your company. If you are in the ‘not’ category, staffers might just be taking care of it for you through shadow IT.
Much liked caped crusaders, shadow IT is something of a vigilante force, albeit one that doesn’t require the wearing of undies on the outside. In a statement Fronde CTO James Valentine said, “Shadow IT is another form of digital transformation [but] by stealth.”
That flies in the face of our understanding of digital transformation as a strategically-led initiative which addresses business models and processes broadly, rather than in the narrow spaces where shadow IT tends to gain traction.
But is stealth still a valid way to get the job done?
Lee Stevens, solutions specialist at Intergen, said that in his opinion, shadow IT isn’t a force in digital transformation. “No, transformation is something strategic, whereas with shadow IT, you end up with hundreds of point solutions which are not introduced in a connected, well thought-out programme. Shadow IT only solves the need of an individual or a department.”
He added that digital transformation should equip organisations with consistency and continuity. “The digital space is already really noisy, so if you have multiple systems doing the same thing – which can happen with shadow IT – it makes it even noisier. A broader view [of digital transformation] is that rather than looking at the components, you work back from the problem with a design- and technology-agnostic view. That way you get an outcome in a controlled fashion.”
Valentine, however, said that if employees are implementing technology without the IT team’s involvement, or if the IT team is viewed as a roadblock to innovation, it risks being disintermediated by its own organisation. “IT professionals can react in a variety of ways. From what we’ve seen, those that surrender to the business are trying to deal with the aftermath of new and unsanctioned business applications. This can include integration issues and security risks that create many hours of work to remediate.”
In other words, digital disruption (but not necessarily the good kind).
Continued Valentine: “Those that deny the issue and hold the line with process and policy are being bypassed in important IT decisions. Some, however, have pushed through the necessary changes and have built an enviable digital platform, influenced by the shadow IT and underpinned by modern tools, processes, and capabilities.”
Valentine added that teams that use the learnings of shadow IT to build a customised digital platform for their business can be more successful than their counterparts.
This, said the statement, is because the shadow IT mindset encourages IT professionals to be more agile and responsive to the business and customer’s needs.
Valentine, said, “Organisations shouldn’t surrender to or ignore shadow IT; rather, they should leverage it to bring new solutions forward. IT teams should be the best-equipped in a business to help with technology transformation.”
