Description
Shadow IT is the autonomous procurement or usage of IT by business units or users without involving the IT organization. To get an up to date IT management’s perspective on this phenomenon, 16 interviews with executive or senior IT managers were conducted. Using content analysis, the empirical data is compared with current themes about Shadow IT that were previously identified in a review of practitioner articles. In contrast to academic research, many practitioners currently deal with governance aspects of Shadow IT and its controlled use in organizations. We find that some study participants enable “Business-Managed IT” to harness the potential of Shadow IT in certain areas but also to manage associated risks. However, participants prefer to improve the IT organization to better serve their users and thus to reduce the need for Shadow IT.
Recommended Citation
Kopper, Andreas, "Perceptions of IT Managers on Shadow IT" (2017). AMCIS 2017 Proceedings. 10.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/amcis2017/OrganizationalIS/Presentations/10
Perceptions of IT Managers on Shadow IT
Shadow IT is the autonomous procurement or usage of IT by business units or users without involving the IT organization. To get an up to date IT management’s perspective on this phenomenon, 16 interviews with executive or senior IT managers were conducted. Using content analysis, the empirical data is compared with current themes about Shadow IT that were previously identified in a review of practitioner articles. In contrast to academic research, many practitioners currently deal with governance aspects of Shadow IT and its controlled use in organizations. We find that some study participants enable “Business-Managed IT” to harness the potential of Shadow IT in certain areas but also to manage associated risks. However, participants prefer to improve the IT organization to better serve their users and thus to reduce the need for Shadow IT.