Shadow IT and Data Governance

Computers are tools that no business can operate without. From the simplest of organizations to the largest of corporate enterprises, computers are the tools that enable the work. Yet business IT often operates without enough thought or attention paid to data access and governance, where applications or services are installed or implemented by non-technical users that don’t always understand the implications of their actions. IT isn’t just about computers and servers, routers and switches. It’s about the user environment, workflow, data, security, applications, infrastructure and more. The resources which provide the foundation for whatever it is the business does – this is the area of IT. 

When businesses need to implement new applications, IT must install or secure or protect the solution. When a business needs to set up databases or analytics infrastructure, it is in the realm of IT to provide those resources. Very little happens in a business without the support of information technology. 

Too often, small and growing businesses minimize the importance and strategic value of closely managing their information technology when it comes to building longevity and reducing risk in the organization. IT departments and MSPs face a constant struggle to keep up with demand while fighting a battle against ungoverned expansion of applications and services in use.  

According to Wikipedia, “Shadow IT refers to information technology systems deployed by departments other than the central IT department, to bypass limitations and restrictions that have been imposed by central information systems. While it can promote innovation and productivity, shadow IT introduces security risks and compliance concerns, especially when such systems are not aligned with corporate governance.” 

When a business elects to implement a solution outside of the existing IT environment, or in the current environment but without consideration of implementation standards or resource availability, it reduces the time-to-benefit of the solution and new risks are introduced. Additional costs may also accompany this activity due to requirements to buy more infrastructure to adequately support the solution, or through closing gaps exposed in an improperly secured deployment. 

Noobeh helps businesses manage and protect their IT environment more efficiently, providing the change control and governance needed to turn IT into a strategic business advantage.

Mendelson Consulting’s cloud services team powered by Noobeh has the experience of helping businesses establish a solid foundation suitable to support business sustainability, improvement and growth. Leveraging the security, flexibility and massive scalability of the Microsoft Azure cloud platform and Microsoft 365 Fabric and framework, Noobeh helps businesses improve their infrastructure, reduce IT break/fix and administrative costs, and take advantage of the power and interoperability of the Microsoft technology stack. Noobeh helps businesses keep their systems managed, protected, and ready to handle whatever comes next.

Whether it is migrating applications from on-premise to cloud, providing remote support and management of computers and devices, licensing and administration of Microsoft 365 services, or setting up database, data warehouse or data lake infrastructure for analytics and AI, the Noobeh cloud team at Mendelson Consulting deploys and supports strong foundations for growing organizations. 

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