It's a great time to be a CIO. Businesses have never been more focused on using technology to drive growth. And technology has never been so accessible. The variety of technology options and faster delivery methods (thank you, cloud) have simplified the process of identifying, purchasing and implementing technology and services. Generative AI is just one example (of course, a big one) of this.
But while growing interest from business partners in new and emerging technologies is exciting, it comes with some risk and could change the way IT works with its business partners. Understanding those risks and guiding business leaders on how best to address them is critical for CIOs in shaping the IT-business partnership.
Understand the risks of emerging technology
Did you ever think you'd see so much interest in AI? What used to be a complex and mysterious technology to the average employee now appears on the nightly news and is mentioned in almost every meeting you attend. Generative AI has made the technology accessible and useful for a wide variety of business roles, from the CEO to the entire organization. Almost every function and role can gain some benefit from genAI.
According to Forrester, 89% of AI decision makers said their organization is expanding, experimenting, or exploring the use of genAI. But beyond those approved use cases, many workers are using ChatGPT or other unauthorized genAI tools in the office; In fact, Forrester recently coined the term BYOAI for bringing your own AI and predicts that 60% of workers will use their own AI. own AI to do its job in 2024.
That's a lot of shadow AI, and it raises concerns about both privacy and branding (i.e., what are employees putting into those genAI tools, and what proprietary IP could your company be missing out on?). Unfortunately, the IT organization cannot manage technology it is unfamiliar with. And the flood of proposals we all receive from technology and service providers may spark some of that shadow AI. Vendors often say they have a technology solution for a specific process, but the reality is that you may have to fix the process before you can successfully apply a technology solution to it. Another issue that can arise from this trend is overlapping functionality, as each of the different software platforms provides its own genAI capability.
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When evaluating emerging technology, there must be a balance. You want to be innovative and make the most of the right technologies, but avoid being distracted by “shiny object syndrome.” Since applying the wrong technology to business processes or use cases can be a disastrous waste of time and money, this can have the opposite effect than intended: slowing productivity, frustrating workers, and creating more technical debt.
And that's where the IT organization can add real value in today's environment.
Use three best practices when relying on emerging technology to achieve business results
As more technology spending begins outside the IT organization, the role of both the CIO and IT teams is changing. As CIOs take on the new role of trusted advisors to their business partners, they help them understand new and emerging technologies and provide guidance on how they can best leverage those technologies to solve real business challenges. This culminates in three key best practices.
1. Link technology to a business case
Whether it is a technology project initiated outside of IT or within the IT organization, the decision should start with these questions:
- What business problem are we trying to solve?
- What is the business use case for this technology?
- Does this technology align with and drive our business initiatives?
This is where alignment between IT and the business is critical. When IT is aligned with the business at all levels (understanding its objectives and desired outcomes), the technology evaluation process becomes more agile and there is clarity about the right choice for each use case. When IT is not aligned with business objectives or is less engaged with business partners, there is a greater risk of implementing technology for technology's sake and accumulating technical debt.
2. Align IT members with specific business functions
How can you take “business and IT alignment” from a bullet point on a slide to an action in your organization? To use Forrester as an example, we aligned IT team members with specific business functions so they could develop expertise in that function's objectives and document vital business processes. When a technology assessment discussion arises in that function, the business is more likely to consult with IT because there is a greater level of trust and familiarity between the two organizations.
3. Optimize access to strategies with a one-page plan approach
Forrester's one-page plan approach is a best-in-class method for ensuring strategy alignment. Having direct visibility into the most important objectives for our various business partners allows us to align our work and budgets with those objectives. Without that level of visibility, there is a risk that unprioritized business projects will absorb vital IT resources and budgets.
Conclusion
Ultimately, if a point is reached where IT becomes an enabler for the business to achieve its most critical goals, the risk of the business going off course due to shiny object syndrome becomes much lower. Additionally, business leaders will have the confidence to consult IT first and get their feedback before pursuing emerging technology solutions.
This article was written by Mike Kasparian, who serves as CIO at Forrester and leads a global IT organization that manages all internal enterprise technology. He is responsible for leveraging technology to drive productivity and deliver business value, ensure network and data security, and optimize technology operations.
Prior to this role, Mike held various positions in the Forrester organization over the past 18 years, including vice president of enterprise technology strategy and vice president of products for research and analytics. Mike also worked in operations and product marketing and was part of the team that launched the project consulting business. He began his Forrester career in sales working with the company's largest global accounts.
Mike graduated summa cum laude from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
