By Bryan R. Davies, Senior Director of Enterprise Communications Marketing, Alcatel-Lucent

In my first blog in this series, I discussed the reasons enterprise employees are bypassing the IT department when they purchase business software. Most shadow IT users would put it this way: “That’s what I have to do to get my job done efficiently.” In many respects, that short summary goes right to the heart of the matter.

But I’d like to push a little deeper now and examine the place where shadow IT begins – the point where enterprise employees start believing it’s a necessary option. What’s the crucial factor there? Cumbersome processes with long delays? Inferior or out-of-date tools? Or could it involve how those employees are perceived and treated?