Word of the Day: shadow app

Word of the Day Daily updates on the latest technology terms |May 11, 2017

shadow app A shadow app is a software program that is not supported by an employee's information technology (IT) department. In the past, shadow apps were often purchased and installed locally by impatient employees who wanted immediate access to software without going through normal corporate channels. With the growth of software-as-a-service (SaaS) and cloud computing, however, the meaning of shadow app has expanded to include free consumer software that is accessed over the Internet. Skype, Dropbox and Google Docs are all popular shadow apps. Although many shadow apps can improve productivity and collaboration with little or no financial cost to the company, their use comes with risks. If an employee accesses a cloud app with his personal account, for example, corporate data may be put at risk or even lost if the employee leaves the company. Shadow apps can also cause bandwidth issues on the corporate network, slowing things down and impacting everyone's productivity. To prevent problems, an IT department should have a service audit process in place to inspect outbound packets and verify ownership of company-owned services in the cloud. The organization should also have policy in place that requires employees to use corporate accounts for web-based applications and restrict network privileges so end users cannot install software locally. If a large group of employees is using a particular cloud app, the IT department should consider providing the service in house and finally, the IT department should educate employees about the value of corporate data and the risks that shadow apps present. Quote of the Day "We used to have to worry about people buying a server and installing it in the closet, now shadow IT is mostly around cloud services." - Jeffery Schilling   Trending Terms SaaS shadow IT rogue IT BYOD Dropbox Skype   Learning Center Enlightened shadow IT policy collaborates with users A shadow IT policy that manages risk has to change with the times, as cloud services offer users easy access to necessary apps. Shadow apps in the cloud threaten IT data governance Deploying cloud apps can take far less time than going through IT to do the same work on premises. But these shadow apps cause IT data governance issues. Beyond shadow IT risks, opportunity awaits Shadow IT risks pose a threat to the enterprise, but, when properly managed, the use of unsanctioned apps can lead to new cloud computing innovations. Build a shadow IT strategy all departments will love To build a successful shadow IT strategy, IT pros must remember that, in many cases, shadow apps meet a business need that existing IT systems don't. Shadow IT cited as reason why some firms lack formal cloud strategy New research from VMTurbo suggests firms are using cloud, even if they claim not to have a formal private or public deployment plan in place. Writing for Business I've saved the folder to Dropbox and will send the link to _________. a. he and Charles b. him and Charles c. Charles and he d. Charles and him Answer       Stay In Touch For feedback about any of our definitions or to suggest a new definition, please contact me at: mrouse@techtarget.com   Visit the Word of the Day Archives and catch up on what you've missed!   FOLLOW US About This E-Newsletter This e-newsletter is published by the TechTarget network. To unsubscribe from Whatis.com, click here. Please note, this will not affect any other subscriptions you have signed up for. TechTarget, Whatis, 275 Grove Street, Newton, MA 02466. Contact: webmaster@techtarget.com Copyright 2016 TechTarget. All rights reserved.