Shadow IT is far from a new phenomenon; but the truth is that most IT leaders have little visibility in to the full costs of these services and the risk they represent. And with this gap comes the absence of a proactive strategy for addressing the issue.

Companies are using up to 15 to 22 times more cloud services to capture and store critical data than CIOs and other IT leaders are aware of -or have authorized. This phenomenon, known as Shadow IT, is a growing concern for IT leaders. So much so, that our next#CiscoChatonTuesday, September 22 at10:00 a.m. PSTwill bring together a team of experts to discuss the extent of Shadow IT challenges and the solutions leaders can use to address them.

On average, IT departments estimate their companies are using an average of 51 cloud services, when it's more like 730 cloud services that are being used. And with this increased use of cloud services comes increased security concerns. Sensitive customer data, private company information -you name it -are all potentially at risk when employees step out on their own cloud service adventures. Risks to brands, compliance measures, business continuity and finances are also very real possibilities.

Shadow IT is growing. So what are the answers to this ever-growing concern -and how can IT align better align itself with other departments to minimize the risk? This #CiscoChatled by @CiscoCloud and joined by Ray Wang (@rwang0), principle analyst from Constellation Research, Bob Dimicco (@robertdimicco), leader of Cisco's Cloud Consumption Service Practice, along with Ken Hankoff (@khankoff), leader of Cisco IT's Cloud Application and Service Provider Remediation (CASPR) Group, will attempt to answer these questions and field responses from our online community. Join us on Twitter for the #CiscoChat on  #ShadowIT on Tuesday, September 22 at10:00 a.m. PST.