The rise (and impact) of shadow or rouge IT

Shadow IT – a term often used to describe IT systems and IT solutions built and used inside organizations without explicit organizational approval. It is also used, along with the term “Stealth IT,” to describe solutions specified and deployed by departments other than the IT department.

This has always been ‘a thing’ but we’re definitely seeing a rise in shadow / rouge IT in many of the organizations that we support.  I can understand it from it’s various different perspectives (end user, management and IT department) and can see merits for each but, as a contractor often responsible for a) finding and b) fixing the mess, I tend to side wiht the IT department in most cases.  

• From the users perspective, buying their own kit to do their job better, faster or easier is a no brainer.  It’s no expense to the company, it’s no administrative drain on IT (because the user is managing it) and it’s helping them be a happier, more productive employee.  
• From the management team’s perspective, deploying IT directly without the IT department’s approval is a no brainer as well.  There’s no question of budget approval, there’s no administrative drain on IT (because all of the details have already been taken care of t by management) and it gets their