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New research from The Access Group shows that 35% of UK employees admit to using generative AI without telling their managers. As employee use of AI increases, many organizations are still developing their plans for managing its use. Shadow AI is quickly becoming a challenge for many IT teams.
Shadow IT is not a new concept. The rapid evolution of SaaS technology has led to a proliferation of technology within organizations as employees turn to tech tools to support their daily work. IT is often unaware of the technology used within their organizations, so what options do they have to govern new technology, including AI and the risks associated with it? The answer lies in making it easier for employees to bring new technology into the organization with the involvement of IT.
The root cause of shadow IT
There are countless reasons why employees choose to introduce unauthorized technology into their organizations. In the UK, hybrid working models, easy access to cloud services and the evolution of AI have made shadow IT a major concern for businesses. Some employees may also choose to bring in their own technology because they are too busy or afraid they will inconvenience IT if they go through the proper channels. Whatever the reason, the root cause of shadow IT adoption is related to inefficient and potentially broken processes.
But the responsibility does not lie solely with the employees. For example, if an employee follows the process of submitting a technology request but it is delayed or goes unnoticed by the IT team, chances are they are also turning to shadow IT. In this scenario, organizations not only open themselves up to security concerns surrounding unauthorized software, but it also puts strain on IT teams and wastes time on employee work requests.
The key to improving IT processes
Far too often, inefficient processes exist because they are manual and disconnected. Companies don’t know where the fault lies because they don’t have visibility into the end-to-end process, data isn’t shared between the people and systems that should be, and the user experience is full of challenges. This is where process automation comes into play.
This statement may seem like a given, especially in the context of IT processes. But unfortunately, many companies have difficulty automating their processes, including IT processes. The reasons for this vary, including manual processes that are complicated and difficult to automate, outdated systems that lack the integrations needed to automate, and more.
Following a simple framework for automation can help most organizations overcome these challenges:
- Identify where automation can be useful and applied
- Automate these processes with low-code tools
- Scale adoption of new processes through modern, easy-to-use user interfaces
By following this framework, organizations can accelerate the fulfillment of new IT requests and reduce the use of shadow IT. Here are a few examples: Map the IT fulfillment process – Get an end-to-end view of each step in the fulfillment process to visualize where bottlenecks and inefficiencies occur. Common bottlenecks occur when assigning requests and leaving reviews in the pending phase.
Enhance the experience and scale engagement – It’s also important to look at the user experience to ensure it’s approachable. How do employees submit their requests in the modernized process? By using low-code application development tools, you can create an employee intake form that is digital and intuitive to use.
Automate Bottlenecks – Once you’ve identified where there are inefficiencies in the process and modernized the user experience, you can apply automation to streamline the bottlenecks. For example, automation can help you avoid requests being stuck in the ‘assignment phase’ by automatically assigning requests to the right team or team member. It’s important to note that automated processes can be successful with a “set it and forget it” mentality. Continuous monitoring and improvement are necessary to ensure that the process functions properly.
The rapid evolution of technologies such as AI will only exacerbate the challenge of shadow IT. Therefore, organizations must modernize their IT processes today to prevent further shadow IT creep and prevent future security risks. End-to-end process automation is the key to understanding where IT processes fail, applying automation and scaling new processes for maximum engagement – while the need for employees to turn to shadow IT for their technology needs is reduced.
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