Shadow IT Data Microsoft Didn’t Disclose

The two most notable pieces of data Microsoft did not disclose affect licensing as a compliance risk and use of Microsoft’s own products and tools to create shadow IT solutions.

For most organizations, licensing compliance is a source of substantial risk. Not following licensing terms and conditions can lead to both reputational and financial harm. Microsoft can likely ignore this risk because the company generally does not follow its own licensing rules internally. Although teams may eventually be charged for services used, Microsoft is unlikely to audit its own teams to see if they are strictly complying with licensing rules the same way it audits customers’ use of Microsoft products and services.

Microsoft Digital does not acknowledge that many of Microsoft’s products and services, including development tools such as Visual Studio and Microsoft 365 products such as Excel, Access, and the Power Platform, are some of the most-used tools to build shadow IT solutions. This especially includes Microsoft’s Power Platform in Microsoft 365 subscriptions, which is marketed as a tool for citizen developers.