Is IT a problem?

Over the past several years I’ve watched IT struggle for relevancy and a seat at the leadership table. Questioning its role in the organization as a cost center, investment or necessary evil, often reflected by which C-Level it reports into. Some companies even wonder if they should have an IT organization when IT is not their primary business. Is IT a problem? It depends on who you ask.

Today technology is prevalent in just about every company and many IT organizations constantly look for ways to be more agile and cost efficient. There have been several initiatives undertaken to accomplish this - down-sizing, right- sizing, outsourcing, Managed Ops and now DevOps. Has IT finally found the silver bullet in DevOps that would strengthen its value proposition? DevOps does have the potential for increased agility and significant cost savings, but reality may fall short of expectations or be short lived if the crucial cultural change is not implemented along with automation.  

This is where Lean IT could be beneficial. Much like lean thinking transformed manufacturing, I believe it could so the same for IT departments.

One of the first and key principles of Lean IT is that value is defined by the customer and if the value you provide is not sufficient, they will find it somewhere else. There was a time when internal IT departments operated like a monopoly because they felt their customers had no choice but to use them. However, as my former CIO @James Dallas impressed upon me, they have choices. That is why you see the rise of “shadow IT” organizations or businesses quickly adopting SaaS applications as a way to circumvent their internal IT organizations. Some businesses even engage in a power struggle to absorb IT into their reporting structure so their voice can have more impact on the services IT provides.

So although DevOps feels long overdue to help IT move beyond reinventing the wheel each time on low value repetitive tasks, can it really address all the consistent complaints typically levied at IT - it’s difficult to get things done in IT, it takes too long and costs too much? DevOps alone cannot solve all these problems. Why, because getting things done faster, better, cheaper is not the answer if you are working on the wrong things!   

This is why it’s important to add Lean thinking. A focus on value and eliminating waste in addition to DevOps is a powerful combination, and a more comprehensive approach to addressing the key problems facing IT. Additionally, it allows you to tap into the brain power of IT resources on the front line who can easily recognize waste, while motivating them by providing a clear line of sight to how their work adds value to the business. Finally, it provides the opportunity for IT departments to move beyond being merely a provider of tactical IT services to partnering with their business in providing strategic IT services as well.