Shadow IT gains footing

Dan Woods, chief technology officer and founder of Evolved Media (a firm that offers content creation, editorial and publishing services) writes in Forbes magazine that companies have started bypassing their IT departments and creating technology solutions for themselves. He calls it "Shadow IT" and says it has been driven by frustration with the solutions offered by corporate IT departments and the now readily available software tools on the Web.

"Consumer technology now has the ball for quality and ease of use in end-user computing. The services offered by Amazon, Google, Yahoo!, eBay and the other leading lights are the acknowledged examples for software-as-a-service companies,'' he said.

He points to PB Wiki, Google sites, Blogspot, Blogger,Typepad, Basecamp and Central Desktop as examples as well as social networking sites like Facebook and Ning. His recommendation? Recognize "Shadow IT" as a valuable tool for end-user computing and use some of it to improve your workplace.

For more on this trend:
- see this Forbes article