When Employees Are Using Software That IT Hasn’t Approved

In many organizations, front-line managers develop their own IT solutions independently of the IT function, usually because IT managed initiatives aren’t delivering solutions in time. This can present risks for the organization, and in order to better ensure that front-line managers don’t go rogue on digital, IT functions should establish a central IT unit to manage legacy structural projects while a dedicated agile team manages digital and innovation, competing with external providers for business from the business units. In this new role as “orchestrator” rather than “controller”, IT becomes a partner and a coach to business units, helping them to select vendors, properly design APIs, and ensure an appropriate level of security.