Company News

Sensei Article Featured In Valley Lawyer Magazine

December 15, 2021

“Shadow IT: A Serious Threat to Law Firms” by Sensei’s Sharon Nelson and John Simek was featured in the November 2021 Valley Lawyer Magazine, a publication of the San Fernando Valley Bar Association.

Excerpt:

The first problem with cautioning lawyers about the dangers of Shadow Information technology, or Shadow IT, is that most of them have no earthly idea what it is. Technology consultancy Gartner has defined Shadow IT as “IT devices, software, and services–including cloud services–outside the ownership or control of the IT department of a business.”

Once lawyers understand the definition, they generally say that everything is within the control of their IT department. Most of the time, that answer would be wrong, though many don’t know it.

Just the Facts Please

Studies by Gartner have revealed that Shadow IT constitutes an amazing 30-40 percent of IT spending in big enterprises. Advisory firm CEB estimates that the right percentage is 40 percent, while Everest Group research states that it makes up 50 percent or more of the spending. No need to split hairs – all three numbers are big.

Small law firms are not immune to this trend. How many law firm services are in the cloud, especially today? And are they all under the control and direction of the IT department? The likely answer is no.

Read the entire article here. (page 26)