Enterprise app sprawl swells, with most apps outside of IT control

Dive Brief:

Lines of business are managing more enterprise applications than IT, accounting for 56% of all company app ownership and management, up from 4% year over year, according to a report from Productiv. The company compiled and analyzed data on 30,000 applications used by 190 companies. Most departments use between 40 and 60 different applications, the report found. Companywide, departments use an average of over 200 apps. Security, engineering and IT departments lead the pack using the most apps, on average. Applications bought and managed by departments enjoy higher average engagement rates than apps provisioned directly by IT departments, according to the company’s analysis.

Dive Insight:

Tech leadership is experiencing a shadow IT paradox. Apps bought directly by the units that will use them have higher engagement rates than those handed down by IT. But the spread of sticky business applications can come at a financial and security cost. “Every SaaS purchase outside of IT has the potential to expand a company’s security risk surface and can also drastically impact business spend, whether the CIO sees the bill or not,” said Jody Shapiro, CEO and co-founder of Productiv, in an email. Three-quarters of IT leaders say security is their top concern regarding SaaS sprawl, according to a survey published by Zluri and Pulse. Compliance (58%), costs (57%) and shadow IT (57%) follow as the main areas of concern, the survey found. Learn More