Report Finds AI Tools Expanding Shadow IT
The proliferation of AI tools is accelerating SaaS sprawl rather than consolidating it, according to a new report from Torii. The 2026 Benchmark Report finds that 61% of software-as-a-service applications are unmanaged "shadow IT," increasing governance and security risks. This trend suggests employees are adopting new AI-powered apps outside of official IT procurement channels.
- The average organization now has more than 830 applications, with large enterprises averaging 2,191, and only 15.5% of these are formally sanctioned by IT departments. - Employees often turn to unapproved tools because of delays in official IT procurement or when they find the sanctioned tools inadequate for their tasks, prioritizing immediate productivity gains. - Unsanctioned AI tools introduce significant security risks, including the potential for sensitive corporate data like source code or customer information to be leaked or used to train public AI models. - A key driver of "Shadow AI" is the rapid integration of AI capabilities into existing SaaS products, which often occurs without centralized oversight from security or IT teams. - The financial impact of SaaS sprawl is substantial, with companies of 10,000+ employees spending an average of $264.2M annually on SaaS and wasting an additional $126.9M on redundant or unused applications. - In Europe, over a third of organizations report significant challenges in monitoring the use of unsanctioned AI tools, particularly when integrated with legacy systems. - While employees use unapproved AI for efficiency, it can lead to compliance violations with regulations like GDPR if sensitive data is processed in unauthorized systems. - Research shows that 43% of U.S. knowledge workers now use AI, and more than half of these users engage with the tools at least four days a week, indicating deep integration into daily workflows.
