Which term describes IT services acquired outside of the traditional IT department?

• A. Stakeholder
• B. Shadow IT
• C. Baseline
• D. Centralized Architecture

Answer: (B)

Shadow IT describes IT services obtained outside the traditional IT department, often driven by the need for speed, flexibility, or tools not officially sanctioned by IT. This private IT landscape emerges when business units or individuals seek rapid solutions by using cloud apps, SaaS, or personal devices for work, bypassing formal governance. While it can accelerate delivery and innovation, it also brings security and compliance risks, such as data exposure, inconsistent controls, and a lack of visibility into what tools are in use. The other terms don’t fit: a stakeholder is anyone with an interest in a project, not a source of unapproved services; a baseline is simply a minimum standard or configuration; centralized architecture is a design approach to organize systems, not the phenomenon of using unsanctioned IT.