Friends or Adversaries? IT vs The Business

In this Studio panel recorded at Abbey Road Studios, industry leaders explored how fostering collaboration, aligning goals and improving communication can transform IT from a cost centre into a strategic partner driving innovation and success.

The relationship between IT and business is intricate and nuanced, balancing collaboration with occasional tension. 

Successful partnerships hinge on aligning technological solutions with business goals. Bridging communication gaps, fostering mutual understanding, and adapting to evolving needs are crucial. When IT and business collaborate effectively, they become allies, driving innovation and organisational success.

Meet the panellists

With Sasha Qadri moderating, the roundtable panellists included:

• Robert Sheesley, CIO, Wrench Group
• Douglas Goodridge, CIO, Former - Williams Racing
• Joanna Pamphilis, Global Head of Investments and Securities Digital Products, CIO, UniCredit
• Anna Barsby, former CIO, Founder and Managing Partner, Tessiant

IT vs the business: overview

• “You can't deny the historical reference of that relationship, but it doesn't have to be that way. IT has traditionally been a cost centre... Massive investments, project failures, not always successes," said Joanna Pamphilis. The panel agreed that the adversarial perception between IT and the business has historical roots, largely due to IT being seen as a cost centre and the site of project failures. 

• The divide between IT and the business is partly self-inflicted by technologists, who often separate themselves from other business functions according to Anna Barsby. “This is a situation created by technologists because we call the business 'the business'... So I think it's for us to change that narrative and move that on." Douglas Goodridge argued that there was also further concern that IT is still seen as a “no department” in some organisations, which hinders its ability to drive business value. On the other hand, he noted the role of IT has evolved from being the department of “no” to being a key driver of business value and success.

• Robert Sheesley sees a significant opportunity in aligning IT more closely with business needs. He emphasises the importance of understanding the "voice of the stakeholder," meaning IT should focus on the needs and perspectives of those it serves, not just the technical aspects. He also believes in the importance of educating business stakeholders about technology, ensuring they understand enough to appreciate what is required for various IT initiatives.

• “Aligning what you’re doing in IT from an investment perspective against those strategies is so very important... If we can’t answer the question, how is initiative 28 contributing to any of these, maybe we shouldn’t be doing initiative 28.” Robert argued that successful IT initiatives are those that are clearly aligned with business strategy, demonstrating value creation directly tied to business goals. 

• Douglas expressed concern about the need for strong leadership to effectively present technology initiatives, ensuring they are not perceived as technology for technology's sake, but rather as aligned with business strategy. “You have to have strong leadership, you have to get your elbows out and really stand your ground to represent technology with that bit of paper that says this is what we’re doing because of... business strategy.”

• Technologies like AI could potentially cause fractures between IT and business if not carefully managed—Anna emphasised the need for close partnerships and shared understanding of data and security concerns. “AI will be the next one that could really start fracturing those relationships... So we've got to make sure those stakeholders are really tight.” 

• To effectively adopt AI, businesses must focus on data stewardship, governance and ensuring their data is in good shape. At the same time, Douglas emphasised the importance of allowing users to experiment and play with AI tools without constantly saying "no" to their initiatives. He used an analogy of creating a "soft play area" for children, where users can explore AI tools in a safe and controlled environment. In this setup, users don't see all the behind-the-scenes work, like governance and security measures, but it allows them to experiment without creating risks.

• A member of the audience, OpenUK’s Chair of the Finance Advisory Board, Lee Fulmer, asked for advice on how to make technology teams more knowledgeable about the business side. Joanna emphasised the importance of bringing business and technical teams together. At her company, they hold monthly meetings where the business side explains strategies and products to the technology team. 

• Anna supported the idea of having daily stand-ups where both business and tech teams collaborate. “One of the things I loved about being in retail is we all had to go out and work the shops. We had to go and be the business.” Reflecting on her experience, she believes that direct exposure to the business side helps IT teams understand pain points and offer more relevant solutions.

Interested in this topic? Explore more thought leadership insights and in-depth roundtable discussions at The Studio in our C-Suite Hot Topics & Insights section.