The Wall Street Journal November 27, 2021, 5:30 am EST |Journal Reports:Technology|”It’s Time to Get Rid of the IT Department” “It made sense in a bygone era, when technology was separate from the business. Now it just hurts both” By Joe Peppard
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This model is close to what is being discussed in The Wall Street Journal article summarized by 2244
Until now IT has been its own org-chart and functional Island relegated largely to “back-office” functions. “Leaving IT decisions and activities to a department that is figuratively and sometimes physically far from the so-called core business is a recipe for disaster.” After all, today “organizations can’t survive without tech. IT is fused with the work of staff, a core enabler of business models, and a driver of customer experience.” IT must evolve to be judged not on response time to “tickets” and success of projects but on success in driving “business outcomes.” The typical corporate way of designing projects and budgets doesn’t work well in today’s “fast-paced digital world”...where even “customers don’t know...what they’ll need in six or 12 or 18 months in advance…” Some argue that IT loves tech but not particularly the business they are supporting but “These days, the business_is_the technology and the technology is the business.” Now “there are...a small number of pioneers who are ditching their IT departments” to better leverage emerging IT as a core competency and strategic business driver.
Is there a better way?
Make IT part of every business unit.
“The leadership team is working from a design premise to realize value from IT as opposed to one focused on managing IT” One CIO said “‘In three to five years everyone will work in IT.” Coding is today easier than ever. “Low-code/no code software development platforms allow employees to drag and drop application components, connect them together and create mobile or web apps without programming skill. Yes there will still be staff to manage all the tech “but with cloud computing and other technology innovations, having hardware or software physically on the premises is no longer necessary.” Employees can be organized by groups dedicated to a mission be it “banking, payments and marketplace” etc. allowing these functionalities to leverage the best “technology to achieve [their] particular goals.” “Nobody has to wait for the IT department to approve their request.” Fusing “work relationships across internal teams”...enables “faster decision-making, greater visibility and shared ownership.”
Guardrails needed.
There’s still going to be some centralized control. “Everybody has to use the same security protocols and software-programming languages, and conform to a prescribed architectural blueprint when building digital products and solutions.”
“Organizations need IT. But they...don’t need an IT department.”