When I first noticed it, it was just a simple spreadsheet. I was in a sales meeting, watching colleagues discussing a set of customer leads, when someone mentioned a lead-scoring model that had been built right in Excel. Curiously, this spreadsheet wasn’t part of our official customer-relationship system. It turned out our sales department had quietly created its own lead-scoring tool because the approved system was too slow for the fast-moving market. Instead of chastising them, I paused and thought: could this solution be signalling something important about where our systems were falling short?
Across the organisations I work with, this pattern repeats everywhere. Informal, employee-built tools quietly fill the gaps in our official systems. Colleagues create advanced formulas, simple macros, chatbots or free web apps whenever sanctioned platforms fail to keep pace. These creations used to trigger alarm bells for security or compliance, but I’ve come to view them differently: they are signposts of unmet needs – sparks of innovation lying just beneath the surface of our processes.
Why Employees Build Their Own Tools
In practice, I’ve learned that these workarounds appear for a simple reason: they make work easier and faster. People crave agility. If a central report takes weeks to be delivered, a busy department will often build a quick spreadsheet instead. If an approved platform is missing certain data, a sales group might write its own script to fill in the gaps. When sanctioned systems are too slow or too rigid, colleagues simply find another way.
This comes as no surprise. Our organisation, like many, has dozens of enterprise tools approved – but the real total in use is much higher once you include the unofficial ones. Whenever a slick new app promises to “bypass corporate IT,” staff are quick to give it a try. I once saw what happened when a company tried to block a popular cloud app entirely: usage went completely underground, making it even harder to support or secure. Ultimately, trying to stamp out all unofficial software tends to breed frustration and mistrust.
Yet these grassroots solutions do have a silver lining. Every time a department crafts an Excel macro or builds a quick script, they are signalling a gap in our systems. In my experience, an ad-hoc tool often surfaces a genuine need that wasn’t obvious to those in headquarters. These homemade fixes are like a litmus test, highlighting exactly which features or flexibility our people really need in their work.
Turning Risk into Opportunity
Over time, my perspective shifted from treating these DIY solutions as threats to seeing them as clues. When a colleague quietly builds a quick model to solve a pressing problem, I now try to ask: what does this tell us about our true needs? I recall one situation where a data scientist had developed a forecast model outside our standard tools. Instead of dismissing it, we treated it as a potential success story. A CIO I know did just that – he incorporated the validated model into the company’s official systems. It was a reminder that empowering the people who know their challenges best usually increases the chances of success.
I also learned how trying to ban these solutions outright can backfire. Once, after a security scare, an organisation blocked a widely used cloud app entirely. Of course, that only drove usage underground and created even more risk. A better approach is to stop fighting and start collaborating. We don’t abandon our security checks – compliance remains a priority – but the mindset shifts. By examining these grassroots tools, we can learn what really works, evaluate the risks, and then scale up the ideas that deliver value. What starts in the shadows can eventually be brought into the light.
Becoming Curators of Innovation
For me, the role started to feel more like that of a curator. Instead of being a data gatekeeper, I began actively seeking out these grassroots ideas. Working at the crossroads of data, technology and operations puts us in a unique position: we can translate frontline creativity into something the whole organisation can use. I often reach out to colleagues with curiosity rather than suspicion – asking, “I noticed you built this tool, how is it helping you?” By listening without judgement, I’ve built trust and learned about many genuine innovations.
For example, the finance department once showed me a custom spreadsheet they used to link sales figures with cash-flow forecasts. We discovered their formulas were solid and provided real insight. We ended up integrating that logic into our official budgeting system rather than letting it remain an isolated file. Essentially, I review promising user-built solutions and shepherd the best ones through proper governance. If a homemade model proves useful, we map its data flow (where inputs come from and where they go), test its outputs, and check it against our standards. It’s the same rigorous approach as any project, but on a faster timeline. A process born in a cubicle can become real value across the organisation.
Of course, none of this works without trust. We made it clear that no one would be punished for showing us what they built. For instance, in one company I worked with, our data group established a simple intake process: anyone who developed a useful macro or small script could submit it for evaluation without fear of blame. This open, no-blame approach quickly turned those unauthorised fixes into shared assets. It sent the message that IT and the business were on the same side. Over time, I learned that when people trust we have their best interests at heart, they start bringing ideas forward to improve. Others often followed suit, turning those initial fixes into shared innovations.
Real-World Examples
Real-world examples help make this concrete. In one organisation, a creative department quietly started using an AI-powered image-enhancement tool to speed up their design work. Initially, leadership viewed it as a potential compliance issue. But when we took a closer look, we discovered this workaround was solving a real pain point: the department was producing higher-quality visuals in far less time. We officially adopted the tool with proper security controls, turning what was once an unofficial app into a valuable company asset.
Another example comes from a healthcare charity I worked with: field officers began using a popular free mobile form app to collect survey data because the central system took too long to update in the field. They were getting much better response rates and faster information this way. Instead of shutting that down, we used their solution as a starting point. In collaboration with IT, we built a secure, approved tablet-based survey application using the same logic and questions. The result was the speed and convenience of the original app, now within a managed, supported framework.
These stories aren’t isolated. Industry surveys confirm that when staff are allowed to pick the tools they find most effective, organisations see big productivity gains. One study found that the vast majority of IT leaders noticed better performance when employees used preferred apps, and many now expect user-suggested tools to become part of their official toolkit. In practice, this bottom-up adoption often reveals which solutions deliver the most value. By paying attention to these trends, we can help the organisation invest in the right places and avoid reinventing the wheel.
Of course, not every user-built tool belongs in production. We vet them carefully. Each promising solution is treated like any new project: we trace how the data flows in and out, test its results against known benchmarks, and check for any privacy or security gaps. We always keep a human in the loop for oversight. For example, we instituted a quick-review process where any solution that seems scalable must pass a basic check of accuracy, privacy and compliance. By the time it’s officially launched, it has an audit trail and everyone’s confidence that it’s safe.
Can we cultivate innovation?
Getting this right depends on culture as much as process. My colleagues and I make it clear that good ideas are welcome even if they started informally. In our firm, we began featuring success stories of “shadow” projects in our internal communications (anonymised to protect privacy). We highlight how an employee’s initiative solved a real problem. This sends a message that ingenuity is rewarded, not punished. We also set up small cross-disciplinary groups – combining a data specialist, a developer and a business user – to jointly improve one promising idea each quarter. We call them innovation sprints, and they ensure that data expertise, engineering support and domain knowledge all come together.
These efforts have tangible benefits. Employees say they no longer feel like outlaws for using unofficial tools, but rather like innovators whose input matters. Importantly, it also reduces risk: with a safe channel to raise new tools, people are less likely to resort to secret workarounds. I’ve even seen several departments come forward to say they want to keep a solution and develop it openly, rather than hide it away. If multiple units independently adopt a similar app or script, that’s a clear signal of an unmet need. We track and summarise these signals for senior leaders so that ideas born in the shadows can be elevated, refined and integrated into our mainstream systems.
Conclusion
Shadow technology often started out as nothing more than a warning sign – a hint that a system wasn’t meeting people’s needs. But by changing how we respond, we turned that warning into an opportunity. In my experience, data specialists who embrace a curator mindset – listening to the front line, testing their solutions, and guiding the best ideas through proper governance – can unlock real value for the business. This approach doesn’t eliminate oversight; it just makes it smarter and more collaborative.
As one industry observer put it, understanding the root causes of these informal tools helps organisations mitigate the risks and harness the innovative potential of their workforce. We are on the front lines of that effort. By building trust, ensuring transparency, and encouraging safe experimentation, we can turn what was once an unofficial workaround into a strategic asset. Enabling this kind of bottom-up innovation makes organisations more agile and effective. In an era where technology and data drive competitive advantage, curating these grassroots solutions ensures that no valuable idea goes unnoticed.