LogMeIn Shines Spotlight On Shadow IT with Launch of AppGuru

LogMeIn, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOGM) today debuted AppGuru, a new cloud app management offering designed to change the way companies secure employee-introduced applications and help IT professionals regain control of today's consumerized IT environments.  Featuring a unique combination of monitoring and management capabilities, AppGuru introduces a completely new way for IT pros to gain visibility into employee use of cloud apps, set group or individual policies, and centralize user management across a broad, growing catalog of popular apps.  As a result, IT organizations can embrace the realities -- and the benefits -- of the 'bring-your-own-app' or BYOA trend, while mitigating inherent security and data loss risks caused by this transformation.

BYOA represents the latest example of the broader 'Consumerization of IT' and 'Shadow IT' phenomenon, where empowered employees make their own decisions around -- and even purchases of -- workplace technology, often without the knowledge or involvement of IT.

A recent survey by LogMeIn, Inc. and Edge Strategies revealed found that IT departments significantly underestimate the scope of the BYOA trend in their workplace.  IT pros surveyed estimated the number of BYO apps to be 2.8 apps per organization.  However, subsequent data collected from similar-sized organizations via app discovery technology found that the average number of actual BYO apps to be closer to 21 per company - a staggering 7 times more.

"For our SMB IT customer base, 'Shadow IT' and BYOA are forcing them to rethink the ways they approach device, application and data management. When you consider the fact that the majority of cloud apps are being used without the knowledge of IT, we see this trend as one of the most significant challenges facing IT today," said Michael Simon, CEO of LogMeIn. "Our goal with AppGuru is to give our IT customers complete visibility into and control over their environment in ways that embrace the inherent realities of employee-introduced technology."

With support for hundreds of today's most popular apps -- including the ability to detect employee use of apps like Basecamp, Box, Dropbox, Evernote, Google Apps, join.me, Office 365, SugarSync, Trello, and more -- AppGuru gives IT a single tool to discover and centrally manage SaaS and cloud apps in their environment.  AppGuru's unique monitoring capabilities reveal what apps are being used on a company's network, by whom, and on which devices.  IT pros then have the ability to determine how best to manage such usage to protect against data leakage and security risks, including the ability to apply policies on who can use such apps and in which ways.   

Specific capabilities include:

Discovery & Monitoring

• Companywide app usage snapshots and dashboard: A single, comprehensive yet concise view into all the cloud and SaaS apps being used on company's network give IT unprecedented visibility into the reality of BYOA.
• Cloud app activity monitoring: Real-time insight into which specific cloud apps are being accessed, by whom, how often, and on which devices.
• Cloud app trending: A quick gauge on the relative popularity of individual cloud apps to inform decisions around potential standardization, company policy, or, in the case of redundant solutions, the option for cutting costs by reducing or eliminating licenses of unpopular company-purchased applications.

Identity & App Management

• Extensive and growing app catalog: Out-of-the-box catalog features dozens of today's most popular apps with new apps being added weekly, as well as a one-click option to nominate and vote for new app consideration
• Centralized management: "Single pane of glass" to centrally manage all cloud and SaaS apps - and app users -- in an environment 
• Active Directory sync: Sync users, groups and departments from AD to AppGuru to manage cloud application access by simply provisioning or disabling user accounts in AD.
• Cloud directory: In addition to - or as an alternative to – AD integration, create and manage user identities in a single cloud directory to ensure control of each user across all cloud and SaaS apps.
• Policy management: Easily set and enforce individual or group policies that restrict the usage of specific features within cloud apps to mitigate security risks, comply with regulatory requirements, and prevent potential data leakage.
• License management: Consolidated view and management of available licenses for purchased and managed cloud or SaaS apps
• Provision/De-provision users: Grant user access to cloud and SaaS applications, and perhaps more importantly, revoke access to applications and sensitive data when an employee leaves the company or switches roles.
• Multi account management: Perfect for IT service providers or IT teams supporting multiple entities, this option gives IT pros the ability to easily manage and jump between different client portfolios in AppGuru

LogMeIn leveraged its deep relationships with its SMB IT customer base - a base comprised of more than 100,000 SMB IT customers, including thousands of managed service providers (MSPs) - to both inform and test many of AppGuru's capabilities.  One such company that has been beta testing AppGuru is Untangled Solutions, LLC, an IT service provider specializing in IT solutions for medical offices.

"Data security and protection is of paramount importance to our clients, but the unknowns of 'bring-your-own' have fundamentally changed how you deliver such protection.  LogMeIn's approach with AppGuru is unique in both its breadth and application, and it provides the type of comprehensive approach necessary to shed light on the extent of risk exposure," said Chris Johnson, Medical IT Consultant at Untangled Solutions. "Our clients look to us as their trusted IT partner - the expert who can help guide them through their evolving IT challenges - and AppGuru introduces a whole new way to advance this trust and create new value with our clients."   

AppGuru is available immediately.  Pricing starts at $29 per managed user per year with additional pricing details available on the AppGuru site.

LogMeIn is headquartered in Boston's Innovation District with offices in Australia, Hungary, India, Ireland, and the U.K.