Shining the Light on Shadow IT

I know of a business manager who was allowed to purchase laptop computers for his team as long as they were not Apple® products because this would create lots of integration issues with current business systems and services.

When asked why he ignored the corporate laptop specification, he said it was because he preferred Macintosh® computers. That was it. He went ahead despite being told they could not be integrated into the company network nor could be supported by corporate IT.

How does that work as a decision parameter in IT?

“Let’s get blue laptops as they look so nice with the office décor!”

This may be true, but this is not a reason to select technology. Imagine a business manager who decides to purchase a large number of iPhone® smartphones for his staff, but the corporate standard is for Android® smartphones.

Who will support these new devices?
Are they fit for purpose?
Who will perform capacity management?
Who will ensure cyber resilience?