According to the latest CSA’s findings, 58% of IT managers are using unapproved tools to collaborate and communicate. Let that sink in — that’s not just a few rebels; more than half of the very people tasked with enforcing tech compliance are sidestepping the rules themselves. Why? Because rules that don’t align with real workflows get walked around. Even though you might think that the shadow IT topic is not relevant anymore, I’d like to challenge you on this: the systems have evolved, and so has shadow IT. A decade ago, it was Dropbox and Google Drive. Today, it’s unsanctioned AI agents, open-source frameworks or LLM-powered copilot tools that developers experiment with on their own. Yet, shadow IT is still very relevant; only the circumstances have changed. Tech evolves, but human nature craves convenience — so IT leaders must keep their eyes wide open to track tool usage and treat shadow IT as valuable feedback to build workflows everyone can use. A close friend of mine worked in a manufacturing firm years ago. Over there, engineers used personal Google Drive accounts to share their 3D models since corporate servers were slow and approval processes took weeks, but no one had cancelled the deadlines. Their leadership discovered this shadowy practice during a workflow audit. Their reaction? A blanket ban on external cloud storage. Not really helping productivity or morale.Click here to read more from Ilia Badeev, Head of Data Science at Trevolution Group — one of the world’s largest travel groups behind brands like ASAP Tickets, Skylux Travel, Dreamport, Triplicity, Oojo and others.