Deja Vu All Over Again

Thus, history repeats itself. MIS, as it was called a generation ago, thumbed its nose at all of the new-fangled personal computers that started mysteriously appearing on desktops throughout the corporate world. Those new microcomputers were there for one specific reason: business was tired of white-coated, non-responsive arrogance from its centralized computer department, so used the new systems to get things done.

(From Cloud Computing Journal, “Cloud:Biz & IT Not on the Same Page”)

A new study conducted by Forrester Consulting for BMC Software has received a lot of attention this week. Although the full results will not be available until the end of April, the findings published in a March 21 press release indicate that business leaders are using cloud computing as a way to bypass IT constraints. Just as the proliferation of smart phones and tablets has generated a substantial guerilla movement to force support of those devices in spite of IT opposition, cloud computing seems poised to join in. Unfortunately, as the quote above points out, this is reminiscent of the days when PCs began their invasion of the corporate space and we all know how that turned out.

Computer Weekly’s “Executives using public cloud to dodge IT rules” highlighted the initial results of the study:

• Three out of four CIOs believe that business executives view cloud computing as a means to circumvent IT control.
• Although only 36% of businesses have policies allowing for use of public cloud resources for mission critical work, 58% are doing so, with a planned increase to 79% within the next two years.
• IT executives see the unmanaged use of cloud services as a factor adding complexity to their operations.

Earlier this month, Steve Ranger writing for TechRepublic noted that even IT staff can be the source of covert cloud computing. Some are using cloud resources to meet business needs and submitting expense reports for the costs.

Shadow IT is a fact of life. Frequently, it can be a valuable source of innovation. However, when major business functions drop off the grid, it should be seen as a red flag. When your customers are going out of their way to avoid you, you have two problems: first is the loss of trust on the part of the business unit that sees you as an impediment and second is the potential loss of support from upper management. Unless there is a legal or regulatory issue, circumventing IT rules will likely get tacit support if the unit is making money. Complaints from IT may even convert that unofficial tolerance into official approval.

Like a turtle in the middle of a busy road, CIOs face a dilemma with no easy answers. The CIO must answer to both individual business units and the enterprise as a whole. Frequently, the needs of one group may not align perfectly with the rest of the company. Too little control allows costs to spiral out of control while too much stifles innovation.

Collaboration, making the business a partner in meeting their needs, will be far more likely to work than attempting to dictate and veto. Fostering innovative efforts puts IT in a better position to mitigate risks than a prohibition policy which encourages hiding of projects until it’s too late for IT to stop them.

A little over thirty years ago, rogues began sneaking non-standard IT solutions into enterprises to meet needs that IT did not. It’s been a rocky road, but we all know how that turned out.