Applications at work the app culture, IT and the business

A In organisations, technology decisions are no longer the monopoly of the information technology department.. Whereas the corporate IT budget used to be funnelled almost entirely throug

A In organisations, technology decisions are no longer the

monopoly of the information technology department Whereas

the corporate IT budget used to be funnelled almost entirely

through the chief information officer (CIO) or chief technology

officer (CTO), research firm Gartner predicts that by 2015, only 60%

of technology expenditure will be managed centrally.1 Research

conducted by The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) in early 2013 also

found that business units in almost half (46%) of companies globally

consult IT about a technology decision less than half the time.2 Such

decisions may be about purchasing a mobile device, sourcing an office

productivity tool or application, or accessing a cloud-based service,

among other things

The phenomenon known as “shadow IT” (in which parts of the business

obtain and operate software or hardware without recourse to the IT

department) is emerging from the murk, becoming a standard part

of how the business procures and uses technology The purchase and

development of applications, including mobile apps, is part of this

trend An “app culture” is developing in which employees feel able—

and empowered—to identify and obtain the software they feel they

need to do the job Some feel capable of developing the applications

themselves

The righT applicaTion

The BYOD (bring your own device) trend is naturally one driver of this activity As employees increasingly use their own smartphone, laptop

or tablet to conduct their work, they, their managers and their direct colleagues are becoming familiar with the various types of applications that can help them be more productive In this sense, BYOD has led to the growth of BYOA (bring your own application)

Another factor is dissatisfaction with the time some IT departments take to procure and deploy applications and devices “Making a request

of IT can take three months, even for a simple addition to the website,” comments a senior executive at a London hospital “Meanwhile, nurses and clinicians are downloading apps to help them in their day-to-day duties.”

So lines of business are increasingly choosing to purchase or build applications, mobile or otherwise, for their own needs The marketing department accounts for much of this activity, reflecting the evolving ways that companies are engaging with their customers Sales and operational departments—particularly in the business-to-business sector—are also looking to create apps for their own staff, such

as account managers and service teams According to Laith Clark, managing director of mobile app development company TapMob: “We see a lot of activity where commercial or free apps and services aren’t really aligned with how the business works Businesses have to choose whether to take an off-the-shelf app and use it as best they can, or to invest more money up front and get all the information they need.” For business units, the benefit of developing or purchasing applications themselves, rather than relying on IT, can be lower up-front cost and the (usually) reduced time spent in deploying the app It also means the department can work in terms it understands For example, the marketing department may have a contractual relationship with a digital agency and can express an app requirement in terms of a brief, rather than having to think in terms of a technical specification

Bring your own complexiTy

There are naturally downsides and risks “Marketing can ask for what they think is a quite simple front end, without too much thought about the back-end systems or questions such as data security,” says Mr

applicaTions aT work

The “app culture”, iT and the business*

Written by The Economist Intelligence Unit

s p O n s O r E D B Y :

*This and other articles about the challenges and

opportunities of mobility, sponsored by EE, can be found at

http://eefutureconnections.economist.com/.

Computer Weekly.com, september 10, 2013

Bluecoat report written by The Economist Intelligence Unit, June 2013

Clarke “These can require spending a lot of money on data integration,

or can create issues which cause problems later For example, a

client-facing application for use at trade shows may be designed to

synchronise data on prospects at the end of the day—but what happens

if it gets stolen in the meantime?”

From the CIO’s perspective, departments taking such decisions into

their own hands—without always thinking of the ramifications—can

lead to increased complexity, cost and risk If something goes wrong—

if corporate data is ‘leaked’ because of a poorly built app, for example—

the buck still stops with IT

How are CIOs reacting to demands for such technology autonomy? In

the aforementioned EIU research, nine in ten CIOs and CTOs agreed

with the statement that “greater freedom for business units to make

technology decisions is critical if the business is to grow” If anything,

they appear more convinced on this score than their business unit

peers Many certainly see risks in terms of cost, complexity and

security, but most appear calm with expanding technology autonomy

and a fast-developing app culture

The chief enaBler

simon short, CTO and head of digital services at Capgemini UK, a technology consultancy, sees two types of CIOs “You’ve got the ones who are still fighting the battle to lock everything down, to keep control, to disallow ‘bring your own device’ and the accessing of [external technology] services And there is another type, who says

‘Our job is about enablement.’”

In their mission as business enablers, CIOs and IT departments clearly have more to gain from the flourishing of an app culture in their organisation than from its suppression Freedom to build or buy the application most suited to their business needs, provided security and other standards are maintained, should be a boon to business units’ creativity and productivity “This is a fantastic opportunity for CIOs,” maintains Mr Short, speaking of the “bring your own” movement

“They should embrace it.”