<s>
In	O
big	O
organizations	O
,	O
shadow	B-Application
IT	I-Application
refers	O
to	O
information	B-General_Concept
technology	I-General_Concept
(	O
IT	O
)	O
systems	O
deployed	O
by	O
departments	O
other	O
than	O
the	O
central	O
IT	O
department	O
,	O
to	O
work	O
around	O
the	O
perceived	O
or	O
actual	O
shortcomings	O
of	O
the	O
central	O
information	O
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Shadow	B-Application
IT	I-Application
often	O
introduces	O
security	O
and	O
compliance	O
concerns	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
main	O
benefit	O
of	O
shadow	B-Application
IT	I-Application
is	O
the	O
increased	O
agility	O
and	O
the	O
potential	O
to	O
prototype	O
solutions	O
to	O
match	O
the	O
evolution	O
of	O
business	O
requirements	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
host	O
department	O
has	O
direct	O
power	O
over	O
its	O
shadow	B-Application
IT	I-Application
resources	O
,	O
thus	O
potential	O
bypassing	O
any	O
dysfunctional	O
IT	O
project	O
management	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
rise	O
of	O
powerful	O
desktop	O
CPUs	O
,	O
business	O
subject	O
matter	O
experts	O
can	O
use	O
shadow	B-Application
IT	I-Application
systems	O
to	O
extract	O
and	O
manipulate	O
complex	O
datasets	O
without	O
having	O
to	O
request	O
resources	O
from	O
the	O
IT	O
department	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Placing	O
barriers	O
to	O
shadow	B-Application
IT	I-Application
can	O
be	O
the	O
equivalent	O
of	O
improving	O
organizational	O
security	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Besides	O
security	O
risks	O
,	O
some	O
of	O
the	O
implications	O
of	O
Shadow	B-Application
IT	I-Application
are	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Wasted	O
time	O
Shadow	B-Application
IT	I-Application
adds	O
hidden	O
costs	O
to	O
organizations	O
,	O
consisting	O
largely	O
of	O
non-IT	O
workers	O
in	O
finance	O
,	O
marketing	O
,	O
HR	O
,	O
etc.	O
,	O
who	O
spend	O
a	O
significant	O
amount	O
of	O
time	O
discussing	O
and	O
re-checking	O
the	O
validity	O
of	O
certain	O
data	O
,	O
setting	O
up	O
and	O
managing	O
systems	O
and	O
software	O
without	O
experience	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Wasted	O
investment	O
Shadow	B-Application
IT	I-Application
applications	O
sometimes	O
prevent	O
full	O
Return	O
on	O
investment	O
(	O
ROI	O
)	O
from	O
investments	O
in	O
systems	O
that	O
are	O
designed	O
to	O
perform	O
the	O
functions	O
now	O
replaced	O
by	O
Shadow	B-Application
IT	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
is	O
often	O
seen	O
in	O
Data	O
warehousing	O
(	O
DW	O
)	O
and	O
Business	B-Application
informatics	I-Application
(	O
BI	O
)	O
projects	O
,	O
which	O
are	O
initiated	O
with	O
good	O
intentions	O
,	O
where	O
the	O
broader	O
and	O
consistent	O
usage	O
of	O
DW	O
and	O
BI	O
in	O
the	O
organization	O
never	O
really	O
starts	O
off	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Inefficiencies	O
Shadow	B-Application
IT	I-Application
can	O
be	O
a	O
barrier	O
to	O
innovation	O
by	O
blocking	O
the	O
establishment	O
of	O
more	O
efficient	O
work	O
processes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Additional	O
performance	O
bottlenecks	O
and	O
new	O
single	O
points	O
of	O
failure	O
may	O
be	O
introduced	O
when	O
Shadow	B-Application
IT	I-Application
systems	O
layer	O
on	O
top	O
of	O
existing	O
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Higher	O
risk	O
of	O
data	O
loss	O
or	O
leaks	O
Shadow	B-Application
IT	I-Application
data	O
backup	O
procedures	O
may	O
not	O
be	O
provided	O
or	O
audited	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Personnel	O
and	O
contractors	O
in	O
Shadow	B-Application
IT	I-Application
operations	O
may	O
not	O
be	O
put	O
through	O
normal	O
education	O
,	O
procedures	O
or	O
vetting	O
processes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Originators	O
of	O
Shadow	B-Application
IT	I-Application
systems	O
may	O
leave	O
the	O
organization	O
often	O
leaving	O
with	O
proprietary	O
data	O
or	O
leaving	O
behind	O
complicated	O
systems	O
the	O
remainder	O
of	O
staff	O
cannot	O
manage	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Barrier	O
to	O
enhancement	O
Shadow	B-Application
IT	I-Application
can	O
act	O
as	O
a	O
brake	O
on	O
the	O
adoption	O
of	O
new	O
technology	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Organizational	O
dysfunction	O
Shadow	B-Application
IT	I-Application
creates	O
a	O
dysfunctional	O
environment	O
leading	O
to	O
animosity	O
between	O
IT	O
and	O
non-IT	O
related	O
groups	O
within	O
an	O
organization	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Improper	O
motivations	O
behind	O
Shadow	B-Application
IT	I-Application
efforts	O
such	O
as	O
seeking	O
job-security	O
(	O
i.e.	O
,	O
"	O
Bob	O
is	O
the	O
only	O
person	O
with	O
this	O
data	O
,	O
"	O
or	O
"	O
What	O
will	O
happen	O
if	O
he	O
leaves	O
?	O
</s>
<s>
Sometimes	O
systems	O
or	O
services	O
within	O
shadow	B-Application
IT	I-Application
grow	O
too	O
big	O
,	O
which	O
goes	O
with	O
too	O
much	O
the	O
company	O
does	O
not	O
intend	O
to	O
take	O
anymore	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Shadow	B-Application
IT	I-Application
is	O
notoriously	O
hard	O
to	O
measure	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Within	O
an	O
organization	O
,	O
the	O
amount	O
of	O
shadow	B-Application
IT	I-Application
activity	O
is	O
by	O
definition	O
unknown	O
,	O
especially	O
since	O
departments	O
often	O
hide	O
their	O
shadow	B-Application
IT	I-Application
activities	O
as	O
a	O
preventive	O
measure	O
to	O
ensure	O
their	O
ongoing	O
operations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
2012	O
French	O
survey	O
of	O
129	O
IT	O
managers	O
revealed	O
some	O
examples	O
of	O
shadow	B-Application
IT	I-Application
:	O
</s>
<s>
Examples	O
of	O
these	O
unofficial	O
data	O
flows	O
include	O
USB	O
flash	O
drives	O
or	O
other	O
portable	O
data	O
storage	O
devices	O
,	O
instant	O
messaging	O
software	O
,	O
Gmail	B-Application
or	O
other	O
online	O
e-mail	O
services	O
,	O
Google	B-Application
Docs	I-Application
or	O
other	O
online	O
document	O
sharing	O
and	O
Skype	B-Application
or	O
other	O
online	O
VOIP	B-Application
software	O
—	O
and	O
other	O
less	O
straightforward	O
products	O
:	O
self-developed	O
Access	O
databases	O
and	O
self-developed	O
Excel	B-Application
spreadsheets	O
and	O
macros	O
.	O
</s>
