Glossary · IT & systems
Shadow IT
Tools employees use on their own, out of sight of IT.
Shadow IT is the tools and services employees start using on their own, out of sight of whoever manages IT. A free app for sharing files, a personal subscription to an online service: it often happens with good intentions, but nobody keeps track of it.
It usually arises because the official systems fall short. When a task is cumbersome, people look for a quicker route. Shadow IT is therefore often a sign that there is a gap somewhere between what people need and what they get.
The risk lies in security and fragmentation. Sensitive data ends up in places nobody manages or secures, and knowledge gets scattered across tools the company doesn't know about. Rather than banning everything, it pays to find out why people chose those tools and to close the gap.
