12.30.10
Is IT Democratization Too Risky?
[Cartoon]
With the enormous power that comes from information technology, any change to it should probably have a risk analysis. If the change is the democratization of IT, shouldn’t it be assessed for risk as well?
I have heard many times in my career that business organizations are not a democracy. They are patterned after the military with lines of command and control represented on organization charts. This structure has been successfully used for thousands of years. It is used today for most corporate technology expansion. Why should anyone consider shifting to a democratic structure?
During the past thirty years there has been recognition of the value of teams. Multiple studies have shown that team-developed solutions to problems are better and more viable that those developed by single individuals. This is especially the case when dealing with complex areas where no single individual can be an expert on all facets of a problem.
Taking the concept of a team into social networks has produced open source software that rivals, and sometimes betters, the software produced by business organizations. Is all of this not proof enough that democratization works?
But, what about risk? How can we just let IT control drift into some form of democratized decentralization? Don’t we need a solid centralized risk assessment? Wow! We just answered the question. It is the desire for centralization that leads us to believe we need to complete a risk assessment.
With democracy we must trust that those using the power will use it appropriately. We do not need a risk assessment.
However, we do have risks. We have the risks of duplication of effort, excessive resource usage, and security violations. Within an organization, all of these risks can be mitigated by having a well-defined Enterprise Architecture. Without this definition, democratization could very well become chaotic.
So, rather than worrying about risk assessment, we should prepare a way for growth. We should have our Enterprise Architects draft the plan that will support the shift of control of IT to the democracy of decentralization. No risk assessment is required.
Enterprise Architects are well-aware of the continuing evolution of technology. They creatively look for technology convergence that can provide breakthroughs in thinking. We are at one of those convergent junctions today. What is about to happen will give non-professional information technologists control of their use of automation in their business. No longer will they simply peer through windows and see only what applications let them see. They will be able to go inside, see how things work, and control their automation. – Enterprise Architects Masters of the Unseen City
Closing the Business / IT gap.
