Mattermost Newsroom

Does your security team need a dedicated, out-of-band IT collaboration tool?

Chat tools are today what email was 20 years ago: An indispensable repository of organizational knowledge and the first line of connection between teams and their systems.

But it’s not enough for highly technical, complex organizations to have general chat tools at their disposal. They need a collaboration hub that consolidates all the information their IT teams require to accelerate mission-critical work without sacrificing security.

Barry Duplantis, Vice President & General Manager of North America Public Sector at Mattermost, was recently named a top public sector leader to watch in 2024.

In this article, Duplantis outlines the three key challenges he sees public sector agencies facing in 2024: adopting a zero trust mentality, formulating an effective and secure approach to AI and ML, and prioritizing secure collaboration.

“Given the current rate of innovation and the growing use of artificial intelligence, our public sector agencies must have a secure environment to collaborate, test and implement new tools to remain competitive in the global race for technological supremacy,” Duplantis said. “I’m proud of how the work we do at Mattermost helps ensure our agencies are able to be innovation leaders.”

So-called Shadow IT — the use of devices, applications, and services outside the control of an organization’s IT environment —is on the rise. Across industries, Shadow IT use is projected to grow from 41% in 2022 up to 75% by 2027, raising concerns on how federal agencies can manage the use of external or unapproved technology.

In theory, Shadow IT isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It can introduce new capabilities into organizations faster than approved IT or procurement processes allow—and eventually drive mainstream adoption.

At the same time, Shadow IT can wreak havoc if unsecure or unpatched technology allows sensitive data to be leaked. So it’s imperative that agencies find ways to manage Shadow IT and protect their information.