Unified communications solutions have made it easier than ever for companies to provide their employees with comprehensive collaboration tool kits, but if recent studies are any indication, too few organizations are taking advantage of the many conferencing and collaboration resources available to them. A recent survey conducted by Frost & Sullivan found that 80% of employees use applications at work that aren’t approved by IT. This speaks to a general dissatisfaction with the official collaboration tools on offer.
Considering the fact that so many enterprises have begun to lean toward bring-your-own-device (BYOD) business models, it is perhaps not surprising that employees would simply stick with the apps that work for them. It also makes sense that younger employees are especially drawn to “shadow IT,” with millennials using unapproved apps 1.5 times more often than their older counterparts. These are employees for whom mobile devices and modern communication technology are second nature. They might not even consider the risks of using unofficial collaboration apps on the job.
But there are risks. Unofficial apps tend to be far less secure than their official counterparts, leaving employees and the companies they work for vulnerable to data breaches. Even if the data remains secure, mere use of an outside app might violate a company’s compliance rules, which are fairly strict in industries that traffic in highly sensitive information. Such violations pose a risk to the company, and should be taken seriously.
Employees aren’t using shadow IT maliciously. They might not even know they shouldn’t be doing it. But they are doing it. The reason: it makes their lives easier. They feel like they can get things done more efficiently with the user-friendly apps they know. And if there are barriers to communication via official collaboration solutions, they are probably right. It is incumbent upon you, then, to provide your employees with tools that make collaboration seamless and easy. A cloud-based solution like Prime Call Cloud UC, which is interoperable with all endpoints, brings everyone together under the auspices of a single solution that guarantees secure communication without sacrificing accessibility.
A cloud-based solution like this is a win-win. Your employees can connect without complications, while you can rest assured knowing your data is secure.
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