Budget constraints create 'rogue IT' danger

Budget and resource constraints, and a focus on strategic projects, are creating a problem of "rogue IT", according to a recent survey.

A poll by 'robotic integration' company Blue Prism claimed that two thirds of organisations see elements of rogue IT behaviour from business users as a direct result of IT department budget and resource constraints. 

The firm highlighted issues such as installing vendor applications and personal software without the IT department's knowledge, and the use of software-as-a-service products like Google applications.

Despite the traditional perception that all IT departments hold a dim view of rogue behaviour by users, the survey suggested that IT departments fully understand why this behaviour occurs.

However, respondents were pragmatic in their answers, suggesting the use of governance rather than introducing measures to eradicate the behaviour.

"The perennial problem in enterprise IT is how to manage the day-to-day demands of the business and business users within the confines of departmental budget and resource constraints and the pressure to deliver high-level strategic projects," said Alastair Bathgate, managing director of Blue Prism.

"In this environment it is tough to find the budgets and resources necessary to address the raft of small changes that business users want.

"It is good to see the IT community acknowledge that users should be given the power to work on their own solutions, although there is a salutary warning from the survey that this should be done with tools approved by IT under an appropriate governance model."

The problem arises when IT departments face the task of managing business-critical projects while helping the business user with tactical change requests, according to the research.

Over 52 percent of respondents reported that working on strategic projects was the main focus for their department, and 40 per cent said that delivering day-to-day business change requests was their priority.

The survey also found that 86 percent of respondents expect projects to be delivered to ever shorter deadlines.

However, satisfying all business needs is often not possible given the focus of IT teams versus the volume of change requests required by the business.

More than 71 percent of respondents cited IT department resource constraints as the reason why they are not able to satisfy all requests from the business.

This was followed by 67 percent of respondents who believed that IT department budget constraints were the key factor.

Of those surveyed, however, 52 percent believed that they are able to satisfy over 75 percent of change requests, and only 10 per cent felt that they were able to manage fewer than 25 percent of requests.

Copyright ©v3.co.uk

budgetcreatedangeritroguesecurity