What Is Shadow IT, and Why Is It an Issue?

An old-time radio show used to start with the promise “The Shadow knows!” Yet when it comes to shadow IT, the problem is the exact opposite. Shadow IT is the stuff Northland employees download onto a business system that IT doesn’t know about, and it can be a big problem.

You may have an IT policy telling employees not to download unsanctioned applications, but they want to boost their productivity, or perhaps they prefer to work with an app they already know and love. So, they get a tool or service that meets their needs without telling IT.

The employee may have the best of intentions. They want to work better for your business. They don’t see the harm in adding that convenient app to their computer. Or they don’t think it’s a big deal to use their own device to complete their work (even if unsanctioned). Maybe they want to be efficient, so they use a personal email account to conduct your business.

Any of these examples are part of Shadow IT, and it’s running rampant. In Frost & Sullivan research, 80% of employees admitted they had used non-approved software. Even 83% of IT workers were using non-vetted Software as a Service (SaaS) applications. So, what’s the big deal? We’ll cover that next.

The Potential Pitfalls with Shadow IT

First, if your business is in a regulated industry, Shadow IT could put you at risk of noncompliance. That unsanctioned device may not be encrypted. Sharing business data over a personal email would be a big no-no in a healthcare or banking space. Shadow IT certainly undermines audit accountability.

It can also drive up IT costs. Say accounting doesn’t know that the business has already paid to use certain software. So, they pay for it again out of their own budget.

If IT is unaware of the Shadow applications or devices, they can’t manage the vulnerabilities. The business doesn’t know customer data or personal identification information about employees is at risk.

And there is greater threat of a data breach or ransomware attack. Employees downloading a third-party app could inadvertently give a hacker access to your network.

Additionally, the business risks losing productivity. The work someone does on a shadow app, for example, could be lost to the company if that employee moves on. IT wouldn’t have access to that account to retrieve the information or files. They don’t even know it is out there on that unknown app or device.

Shine a Light on Shadow IT

Because this IT lingers in the shadows, it can be challenging to coral. Still, there are several steps you can take.

# 1 Educate employees about cyber policies.

Create and communicate acceptable use guidelines, and make sure your workers know what your policies are regarding:

  • SaaS downloads;
  • use of personal devices (e.g. mobile phones, laptops, USB flash drives, portable data storage devices);
  • emailing from personal accounts or using messaging apps;
  • online document sharing;
  • online voice or meeting technology.

Establish clear information classifications distinguishing between public, private, and confidential data. This can help employees recognize they are putting important data at risk when they disregard use policies. For further information Read our blog about Six steps to protect customer data here.

#2 Do a dive to discover Shadow IT.

IT needs to get to know what technology is in use at the business (both on- and off-site). This is more challenging now with people working from home due to COVID-19. Still, a survey of employees and their devices can help gather information about unknowns.

#3 Determine the value of IT discovered.

Don’t overreact. You don’t want to necessarily ban all Shadow IT that you discover. Some of the services could have value. Vet the applications or devices found or reported. Review their connection to private or confidential data or essential network systems. If several employees use an unsanctioned app, you may want to invest in it. With a professional version, your IT team can safely manage the app.

# 4 Deliver the IT your people need.

Why are people circumventing your IT policies? Are they are under pressure? Are they are looking to meet an unmet need? Are they are more comfortable with a familiar app or device? It’s important to understand what the employee is aiming to accomplish or why they’ve turned to shadow IT. This can help you identify IT needs and areas where you need to improve.

Shadow IT is data or applications that are outside your business protection. IT can only watch what it knows about. Shadow IT is unsafe and unpredictable.

Every business is different. It’s always best to chat to a IT Professional about your business needs first. To find out more about Shadow IT, and other IT issues please call us or email us here to book a 1:1 free, no obligation appointment.

Microsoft 365 Streamlines Business and Reduces Spend

For our Northland customers, when doing business online, you have many options for available software and systems.

You might turn to one solution to handle online meetings, another to drive collaboration, and yet another to manage your content and workflow. It can get confusing. Plus, when you are duplicating tools, IT spend can mushroom unnecessarily.

Microsoft 365 aims to offer a single, all-in-one solution. This article highlights the benefits of streamlining your software needs.

Formerly Office 365, Microsoft 365 is for home, business, enterprise, and education users. Microsoft touts that the software helps businesses reimagine the way they work.

Consolidating many business apps can encourage productivity, support collaboration, and cut costs. Doing away with the fragmentation of many different vendor apps your business can:

Benefits of Microsoft 365

  1. save time;
  2. manage projects, communications, calendars, and more in a unified platform;
  3. simplify deployment;
  4. cut tech support and IT management challenges;
  5. budget better with one invoice for the one solution.

Let’s talk in more detail about all you might handle within the Microsoft platform

Microsoft 365 Replaces Your Many Apps

There are many online business tools you can replace with Microsoft 365:

# 1 Communication

First, there’s Business Voice to replace your traditional phone systems. This secure and cost-effective VoIP service enables users to make and receive calls from any device. You can use a laptop, mobile, or desktop, while continuing to use the same number as the desk phone. You can dial in numbers for call conferencing, AI voicemail, transcription, and real-time captioning help, too.

Microsoft 365 also lets users pop into meetings immediately within their Teams channels. They can easily start a phone or video meeting, and during the meeting, they can also share files and PowerPoints. Plus, integrating Outlook contacts and calendars helps efficiency and scheduling.

# 2 Collaboration

Microsoft users are already relying on Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files. With Microsoft 365, these files are easy to use and share online. Collaborate in a shared document, in real-time, with version control.

Within Microsoft Teams, users have a whiteboard and screen, too. Custom backgrounds and the Together mode are particularly useful during the pandemic. Blur the background on a video call or choose a custom setting. Or sit in a shared digital background to feel as if you’re all actually in the same space together again.

This can replace GoToMeeting, Zoom, and WebEx, as well as document management software, Box, or an on-premises file server.

# 3 Apps and Services

Integrate bots, automate workflows, or manage data with more than 700 productivity, project management, industry-specific, or business department apps.

Businesses can connect data to improve agility with Power automate doing repetitive tasks. Power BI makes it easier to discuss and visualize data.

# 4 Emails and Planning

Microsoft Exchange does away with on-premises email, Web hosting provider email, or Gmail. Plus, people can stay better organized with integrated notes, documents, and calendars.

Instead of tracking things in Trello, Basecamp, or another project platform, use Planner to stay on top of progress.

# 5 Backup storage

Your Microsoft 365 subscription includes 1 terabyte of OneDrive cloud storage. That’s equivalent to 6.5 million document pages (such as Office files, PDFs, and presentations). Plus, your workers can share, locate, and collaborate in SharePoint.

# 6 Cybersecurity

Microsoft 365 also offers secure messaging and multi-factor authentication. The “1,000+ security and privacy controls” help meet industry and regulatory standards. That’s without needing Proofpoint, Mimecast, or Barracuda, or other advanced threat protections.

Simplify your IT infrastructure with Microsoft 365. Reduce software duplication, cut back on software licensing costs, and regain storage capacity.

Every business is different. It’s always best to chat to a IT Professional about your business needs first. To find out more about Microsoft 365, and how it can help your customers, please call us or email us here to book a 1:1 free, no obligation appointment.

The Dynamics of Microsoft Dynamics 365

What’s so great about Microsoft Dynamics 365?

We all know the person in your Northland organization who has been there for eons. They know everything about their customers, from their names to their life stories. If they weren’t there – you would be ringing IT Support to troll through some emails!

Or the vibrant young team member who talks to her customers on a daily basis, and could tell you anything about their buying habits. Loves people, hates paperwork.

These team members are great when they are in your company. The only trouble is, when they leave, so too does all the knowledge they carry around in their head.

Then in walks this fantastic, well-rounded, new member of staff. This staff member has the ability to remember anything – almost like they have a 360 view of the customer! But the best thing is they also share it with everyone. Suddenly customer retention is up, sales have increased and efficiency is through the roof.

Who is this new member of staff and where can you find them?

Meet Dynamics 365

The new and easy to implement Microsoft cloud based system that ensures that your organization is:

  1. More efficient
  2. More customer focused
  3. Increases sales.

1. Get to know your customers:

Did you know that only 30% of businesses actually know their customers well? Wait what????

What does this mean? In studies that Microsoft carried out, it showed that only 30% of businesses actually understand their customers buying patterns, and know them really well.

This is largely because the systems they are currently using don’t easily talk to each other, are time consuming to pull reports from, to navigate, and hence only give one side of the story.

Imagine being able to see your customers buying patterns, the marketing that excites them (and that they open), the way they interact with your website, and your social channels all in one place.

Imagine then being able to create automated and clearly defined marketing campaigns that are specific to your customer’s habits.

This all leads to more specific, customer focused, automated marketing campaigns, and hence increased sales.

2. Improve efficiency and reduce your costs

What organizations love is that once they get in to using Dynamics 365, they find that they have a lower cost to serve their customers.

This stems from having more efficient systems, a greater knowledge base, as well as an increased ability to offer self service to customers with customer portals.

How does it improve efficiency? By introducing the Power Platform, PowerApps and Power Automate, Dynamics 365 is easily able to automate the paper and manual processes, and hence significantly increase productivity.

Making the customer experience easy and effortless, also ensures customer retention, and let’s face it, retaining customers is much easier than gaining new customers.

3. Microsoft Dynamics 365 is simple!

People don’t have time or the energy to learn even more software, and with Dynamics 365 they don’t have to.

The beauty of Microsoft Dynamics 365 is that it works hand in hand with the Office suite and is such a familiar experience that the uptake within businesses is consistently high.

Plus, internal stakeholders find that they have increased productivity, as they are not jumping from one application to another.

With the new way of working remotely, you can access everything anywhere you need to and on any device, as it is all cloud based.

Dynamics 365 is an easy add on to your existing Microsoft cloud platform

4. But isn’t it a hassle to change?

Other CRM systems have made people think that it takes lots of time to change and to see the benefits.

With Dynamics 365 you can roll this out in small baby steps, focus on what’s most important now, and start with what your organization most needs. The benefits are immediate, not months away.

Any CRM system will require a shift in culture towards your people actually sharing knowledge, however Dynamics 365 has been found to be so simple, effective and easy, that the uptake leads quickly to increased sales and that is ultimately a benefit for everyone in the company!  

What next?

Every business is different. It’s always best to chat to a IT Professional about your business needs first. To find out more about Dynamics 365, and how it can help your customers, please call us or email us here to book a 1:1 free, no obligation appointment.