IT can’t be the “bureau of NO” but has to be a partner with the business units.
Many CIOs and IT leaders today feel powerless when it comes to managing technology expenditures that come from sources outside of their departmental IT budget. If the sales team decides it wants to invest in training tools to improve reps’ onboarding and overall effectiveness, or if finance develops a forecasting application on its own, and there’s enough in their respective budgets to foot the costs, the CIO often can’t stop them.
But mobile devices and SaaS-based applications eventually need to integrate and exchange data with the company’s IT infrastructure, and that’s when IT will have to get involved. Adding devices and developing new applications can also put the company’s digital assets at risk, and that’s a major IT concern.
The key is to strike a balance between business and IT requirements so that business units and IT always work together. Aim to collaborate on the side of the coin—not heads or tails—when it comes to saying “Yes” or “No” to an IT request.