IT execs need to embrace a new role: myth-buster

One of the most dangerous trends arising from the combination of access to generative AI (genAI) tools, the cloud, and mobile apps is how easy it is for a line-of-business chief to do an end-run around IT and deploy all manner of things. 

Although the centralization/decentralization pendulum has always swung back-and-forth in the enterprise, the ease with which business units can deploy sophisticated (and potentially dangerous) technology without getting the CIO/IT Director blessing is alarming. (We can’t even confidently label this Shadow IT, since that usually just means purchasing technology without corporate approvals. 

Is it really Shadow IT if the department head memoes everyone to do it?

Let’s be clear: this isn’t about an IT Director/CIO power trip or about control. Vendors make all kinds of absurd claims about their capabilities and they’re rarely candid about the downsides. That’s why IT management needs to protect other executives from using technology that they don’t fully understand — whether it’s the CFO suggesting Accounts Payable use Microsoft Copilot or Anthropic’s Claude to speed up invoice processing or the supply chain chief turning to ChatGPT for help with shipment logistics.

Quantum computing is another new (and endless) source of confusion. Yes, quantum technology is getting closer to practical use and it will have significant implications for encryption. But exactly when it will be ready for prime-time use, and what it will actually, remains amorphous. 

My point here is that with the easy availability of these kinds of new and intriguing technology, it’s more imperative than ever that IT leaders from the CIO on down educate their colleagues. It’s far too easy for eager early adopters to get into tech trouble, and it’s better to head off problems before your corporate data winds up, say, being used to train a genAI model. 

This teaching role is critical for high-ranking execs (C-level execs, board members) in addition to those on the enterprise front lines. CFOs tend to fall in love with promised efficiencies and would-be workforce reductions without understanding all of the implications. CEOs often want to support what their direct reports want — when possible — and board members rarely have any in-depth knowledge of technology issues.

It’s especially critical for IT Directors, working with the CIO, to become indispensable sources of tech truth for any company. Not so long ago, business units almost always had to route their technology needs through IT. No more. 

It’s not a battle that can be won by edicts or directives. IT directives are often ignored by department heads, and memo mayhem won’t help. You have to position your advice as cautionary, educational — helpful even — all in a bid to spare the business unit various disasters. You are their friend. Only then does it have a chance of working. 

Let’s say an IT Director works 40 hours a week. (Stop laughing; we all know it’s probably closer to 100 hours a week, but let’s pretend for the moment.) It will help protect the enterprise far more if 10 of those hours are spent teaching higher-ups and peers about the dangers of new technology. 

Another wrinkle to keep in mind is that vendors — especially in hot-button tech areas — are now pushing their messages to LOB chiefs and not necessarily to IT. They know they can sometimes do an end-run so they’re going to try. That lets them spew half-truths today that they would never have tried a decade ago when they were speaking directly to IT and only IT.

There’s even a silver lining here: This teaching role can make beteer-informed senior IT managers far more useful to the company. That translates to potentially better compensation and, at the very least, more protection during layoffs.