Ciske's Blog

Can You Go From Zero to Hero by using SaaS?

Filed under Business , Cloud , Governance , IT Governance , Management , Methodology , Operations , Opinion , PMO , SaaS

I was reading through some updates on a few social networking sites.  When I came across a link posted by one of my friends, Josh Minton,  who posted an article by Aaron Levie, the CEO and co-founder of Box.net.  The article titled How the IT department co go from zeros to heroes.  The article jumps around a bit but the essence of the article is this.  The cloud represents an opportunity for users to use whatever technology they want because, when given the choice, they will utilize technology that will ultimately make them more productive.  IT just needs to get out of the way. 

I think it’s expected that Aaron Levie would make a claim that the cloud is 100% good and if you’re not moving that way you and your customers are missing out.  Don’t get me wrong.  I think the cloud is great and a real opportunity for companies to leverage great software that would either be too expensive, difficult to manage or don’ have the expertise to create themselves.

However, there are three key problems that I have with the way Levie justifies opening up the purchasing and management of software purchases to business unit owners.  The first is that resources, I’m referring to money here, is a finite resource.  Purchasing and managing software is a process and a skill that takes time to learn and master.  Your IT department should have enough experience in this area to make sure that you are getting the best value for your dollar.  Believe me, in the world of Enterprise software everything is negotiable and you need to have knowledge of all the levers you can pull to negotiate the best deal. 

Secondly, Levie cites some Forrester research that finds this type of purchasing is already prevalent:

"Especially in firms where IT is seen as plodding and cumbersome to work with, the new price points and preprovisioning of SaaS and cloud will foster renegade buying by the business."

If you find yourself in this position I would simply start by addressing why your IT organization is viewed by your business partners in this way.  Something is clearly broken and needs to be addressed.

The last issue that I have with this thinking is that IT is in a unique position to see how the enterprise operates end to end.  Many business units work in isolation.  Sales doesn’t always fully understand or appreciate what information the accounting department needs to do their job effectively.  My experience has been that everyone always looks for a software solution to fix any gaps that a good old communications plan can fix for free.  Allowing each department to independently choose a solution without consideration of the larger enterprise needs will do nothing but perpetuate the inevitable ‘brokenness’ and siloed cultures that you see in some organizations. 

The TSA and IT Governance

Filed under Management , Operations , Opinion , Software Development , Strategy , PMO , IT Governance , Governance

I’m not sure if you’ve heard about the recent TSA controversy regarding John Tyner and his recent visit to the San Diego airport.   For those living under a rock John Tyner refused an intimate pat down after refusing to go through the ‘Naked Machine’ (There’s another name for it that I refuse to print here).  You can spend all night reading up on this, but I need to Segway back into how this applies to software development.  So here it is: People understand procedures and rules are for the greater good, but when it stops providing value or begins to violate reason than you are doing more harm than good.

This is where the TSA and IT Governance have something in common.  John Tyner set off a national outcry regarding the use of some of these techniques designed to keep us safe.  There is no doubt that ‘Naked Machines’ and intrusive pat downs will keep the flying public safer than not having them.  But at what price?  Personal privacy, longer lines, inconvenience, etc..  At some point someone was going to have an issue and set off a fire storm.  The end result, in my opinion, will be an extensive review about the effectiveness of these searches and political pandering that will end up reducing the ability of the TSA to keep airline passengers safe.  One sure thing is that the TSA will suffer a reduction in public trust and ultimate legitimacy as a public safety entity.  Move over IRS and The Post Office, there is now someone more hated.

Unfortunately I’ve seen these same types of events (although everyone was clothed) happen in our industry. IT Governance and PMO organizations have a tendency to think that adding more process or rules is a good thing.  After all,  they initially improved processes in the past.  However, there is a tipping point where the implementation of more rules ultimately ends to less impact.  Ultimately becoming detrimental to the very SDLC process you seek to improve.  Then, everyone starts to question the effectiveness of the PMO or IT Governance.  Essentially leading to IT Organizations have their own John Tyner moment!  The result is the same.  Good intentions end up having the opposite effect of which they were intended.

My advice to IT Governance and PMO organizations is to constantly reevaluate all your polices.  A mature development organization should, in most cases, have less policies and procedures in place than one just starting out.  You need to constantly evaluate your maturity level as an organization and make adjustments.  Prejudice should be placed on removing roadblocks, not creating them.   Don’t turn your development staff into a bunch of John Tyner’s.