Shadow IT is the use of technology within an organisation without approval or formal oversight. This includes all kinds of software and hardware, but is increasingly dominated by online, Software as a Service (SaaS) tools.

I’ve recently released a free guide called ‘Managing Shadow IT in unions’ via the TUC’s Digital Lab.

Examples of Shadow IT could include the use of a private Google account to handle a union’s branch email account, setting up a WhatsApp group to communicate with members in a workplace, or storing sensitive member data on a union staffer’s personal laptop.

Union staff and reps have often resorted to these kinds of unofficial solutions as they can be very effective as well as quick and easy to set-up. Sometimes the official IT tools provided by the union are slow to modernise and fail to provide the functionality of the newer SaaS offerings, leading to frustration and users looking outside the official facilities.

Often, unions don’t offer their reps a lot of tech tools, as the cost of licenses for everyone who might want to use something is prohibitive for a distributed organisation like a union. In a situation like that, consumer-focused SaaS tools offer a free or cheap way for people to get a lot of functionality very easily.

This convenience comes at a cost: Shadow IT introduces considerable security vulnerabilities, remaining under the radar of the IT department's protective measures or the data protection officer’s oversight and thus, more susceptible to cyber threats.

The problems caused by Shadow IT have grown significantly over the last few years. The rise of cloud-based SaaS has seen a major increase in the number of online tools that can be quickly accessed by anyone with a credit card or just an email address.

This was intensified by the COVID pandemic, which saw an increase in working from home. Some organisations hadn’t modernised into a cloud IT infrastructure at this point, which meant that employees had to resort to using whatever tools they could to carry on working effectively.

Reps and organisers are by nature well used to solving problems and weren’t slow to find their own new ways of meeting their immediate needs. Many organisations are still affected by the legacy of unofficial software adopted during the pandemic.
So, at the heart of the Shadow IT issue is a dilemma. How do you keep the union safe, whilst not stifling the union’s ability to innovate?

You can download the free guide at digital.tuc.org.uk.