The proliferation of AI-driven development platforms has fundamentally reshaped the way organisations build corporate software. Staff members across business functions—not just engineers—now possess the ability to write sophisticated code and automate routine workflows without relying on overloaded IT teams. Yet this democratisation of development introduces a critical vulnerability: software created outside formal channels circumvents the security protocols and compliance frameworks that large enterprises depend on.
From corporate bottlenecks to shadow IT
Antigoni Kourou, Founder of NEKOD, spent a decade overseeing digital transformation initiatives at ING Bank, where she observed business divisions waiting in lengthy queues for assistance from official IT and automation groups. This challenge mirrors a pattern affecting organisations worldwide. As companies accelerate their digital evolution, their internal automation capacity cannot keep pace with the volume of requests from business teams, leaving workers trapped in repetitive manual processes that fall below the threshold for formal IT investment.
This recurring constraint naturally drives the expansion of shadow IT—applications developed and deployed by staff members without the awareness or consent of the organisation's central IT function. Though senior executives and chief information security officers understandably view this unsanctioned technology expansion with alarm, attempting to eliminate it through prohibition proves futile. Workers denied access to sanctioned solutions will pursue alternative approaches, and companies that suppress grassroots technical initiatives risk losing their most engaged contributors while losing competitive ground in technological advancement.
Source: The Recursive — Events tag
