Microsoft outlines the steps to gain control over your organization’s Shadow IT

You probably won’t be surprised to find out that 80% of employees use unapproved programs while they work. There are a million reasons for this, ranging from convenience to just plain old familiarity. Regardless of the reasons though, this “Shadow IT” can potentially put your business at risk, putting valuable information on the line. In their latest blog post, Microsoft talks about how to prevent this from happening.

The post is mostly about Microsoft’s Cloud App Security service, which does a lot of the anti-Shadow IT work for you. It scans your network to see what apps are in use and from what users, and gives you a risk assessment so you know just how worried you ought to be. If you run a large operation and are concerned about some of the loose ends in your cyber security, it sounds like a really effective solution.

You can evaluate Cloud App Security with a 30-day trial if you aren’t sold on it, which should give you a free head start if you just want to do some risk analysis. If you want to subscribe to the service after that trial period, you’re going to be looking at a charge of around $5 per person per month.