[Shadow IT Research] Managing Shadow IT Instances–A Method to Control Autonomous IT Solutions in the Business Departments

Following design science research and guided by a multiple-case study, this research aims towards the design and evaluation of a theoretically justified and practically applicable method to manage Shadow IT

The importance of this long-standing phenomenon rises due to

• increasingly tech-savvy users, 
• easy access to web-based solutions, 
• and available end user computing tools

Occurrences of Shadow IT are applications, spreadsheet and database solutions, cloud services, mobile devices, hardware, support structures, or a combination thereof.

Shadow systems, feral systems, grey IT, rogue IT and hidden IT are equivalent keywords
used in literature for Shadow IT

RQ1: What measures are necessary to manage Shadow IT instances? 
RQ2: How can organizations define adaptive and efficient IT Governance structures for autonomous IT solutions in the business departments?

Shadow IT characteristics can be viewed similar to those of informal organizational structures 

Both, Shadow IT and informal structures, differ from formal rules. They result from peoples’
need to fill gaps in formal structures to cope with tasks. Both phenomena usually emerge spontaneously, driven by employees on the bottom-level.

Therefore, research examines approaches to access, measure, evaluate, and control informal structures, which can be applied to manage Shadow IT

This decision results from two options on how the business side can fulfill an IT need: Either implementing a solution autonomously or formally initiating a demand at the IT department. This option represents a make-or-buy decision. Transaction Cost Theory is used to explain why institutions insource or outsource capabilities.

Step 1: Identify Shadow IT Instances in the Business Processes

Step 2: Evaluate the Shadow IT Instances 

Step 3: Control the Shadow IT Instances

Further research on userdriven IT innovations may focus on the promotion of business-located processes, the distribution of innovations into the organization and the hand-over process to the IT department for established solution.

Comments:

Define Shadow IT: applications, spreadsheet and database solutions, cloud services, mobile devices, hardware, support structures, or a combination thereof.
Approach: user-driven
How: Transaction Cost Theory

=> good article to have ideas for future research

Bibliography:

Zimmermann, Stephan, Christopher Rentrop, and Carsten Felden. "Managing Shadow IT Instances–A Method to Control Autonomous IT Solutions in the Business Departments." (2014).