Latest / Connectivity Without Chaos - The Podcast / **Shadow IT: 4 Surprising Reasons Banning Unauthorized Apps Can Make Things Worse**

Transcript

**Shadow IT: 4 Surprising Reasons Banning Unauthorized Apps Can Make Things Worse** · Connectivity Without Chaos - The Podcast

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome to today's Deep Dive.
• 0:02
  SPEAKER_01: You know that feeling when you find a shortcut on your commute,
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_01: it saves you like 10 minutes,
• 0:06
  SPEAKER_01: you avoid that one stressful intersection,
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_01: and you just feel like an absolute genius?
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, yeah.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: Best feeling ever.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_01: But then you realize you're actually cutting through an active,
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_01: private construction site,
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_01: and suddenly your genius shortcut is actually a massive liability.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that changes things pretty quickly.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_01: It really does.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_01: And our mission for you today is to understand why employees go rogue
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_01: with workplace tech in that exact same way and how companies can regain control
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_01: without just killing productivity.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_00: Because that shortcut mentality is exactly what is happening right now
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: with shadow IT and increasingly shadow AI.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, let's unpack this.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_01: We're exploring a comprehensive IT guide on how these unsanctioned tools,
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_01: you know, unapproved hardware, software, absolutely surged during the pandemic.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: And before we try to fix the problem, we really have to understand the why.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, employees aren't malicious.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: They just want speed.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_01: They want agility.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: They just want user friendly tools like SaaS or AI to bypass those slow bureaucratic hurdles.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_01: So is shadow IT essentially like construction workers bringing their own
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_01: unauthorized power tools to a site because
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_01: the company provided ones are just too slow?
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: That is a great way to put it, actually.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: But doing that creates massive risks, especially with OAuth.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, right.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_01: When you just click sign in with Google or Microsoft.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: Using company emails to sign up for unsanctioned apps.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: It completely exposes corporate data.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: And what's fascinating here is how fourth party risks emerge.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: Fourth party.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_01: What does that mean?
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: Well, it happens when a shadow app connects to even more unseen integrations.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_00: So your employee gives access to one app and that app quietly shares your data
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: with another third party tool.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, wow.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_01: So it just daisy chains the access.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: And it creates a compliance time bomb.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: Like imagine an employee storing EU citizen data on some shadow US based app.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_01: Yikes.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_01: That is a huge GDPR violation.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_00: And IT can't manage data they don't even know exists.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_01: But here's where it gets really interesting.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_01: Despite all those terrifying security risks,
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_01: this rogue behavior actually holds a hidden advantage for the company.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_00: It does.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: It actually acts as a massive feedback loop.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: It tells IT exactly what tools the workforce actually needs to be efficient.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_01: It highlights the marketplace innovations that IT completely missed.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_01: Wait, if the risks include massive GDPR fines,
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_01: shouldn't a company just build a giant firewall and block everything unapproved?
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, that is the instinct, right?
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: But you have to build a paved road, not a wall.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_01: A paved road.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: If you build a wall, employees just find a taller ladder.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_00: Instead, you use an amnesty program.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, where employees can declare their shadow apps without penalty?
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: It fosters collaboration over gatekeeping.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_01: So since building a wall doesn't work, how do we practically build that paved road?
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: Well, the guide recommends using a SaaS management platform, or SMP.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, and how do you set that up?
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_00: Through services provided by Provision Networks and its partners,
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: companies can discover exactly who is using what apps.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_01: Like tracking where the data is going in real time?
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_00: The crucial tools include a Chrome browser extension for usage monitoring.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_01: Ah, so it sits right in the browser.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: And it has automated alerts that instantly log an employee out
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: if they use company credentials for our risky OAuth signup.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_01: So what does this all mean for the employee experience?
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_01: Because nobody likes being spied on or blocked.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: Well, if we connect this to the bigger picture,
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_00: using Provision Networks in concert with its partners lets IT build
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: a sanctioned app catalog.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, like a safe menu of approved tools.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_00: It allows safe self-service license requests that totally reduce IT's burden
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_00: while giving employees what they need.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_01: That makes total sense.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_01: So managing shadow IT really requires visibility and communication, not just blind enforcement.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: It really does.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: You have to work with the employees, not against them.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I want to leave you with this to mull over.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_01: If everyday employees are constantly finding faster,
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_01: better AI and SaaS tools in their own IT departments,
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_01: is the traditional top-down model
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_01: of corporate software procurement fundamentally obsolete?
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_01: Think about that next time you are tempted to take a digital shortcut.