The Gap between IT Departments and Business Units: an Unbridgeable Divide?

 

The fostering of effective collaboration between IT and business units has been a significant challenge for many organisations. As each group seeks to prioritise different objectives to carry out tasks to the best of their ability, clashes between departments are almost inevitable. However, as we approach the mid-point of this decade, more and more forward-thinking IT departments are now recognising the benefits that come from empowering business units to create their own software. In doing so, organisations allow themselves to strike a much-needed balance between stability and flexibility.

In this article, we’ll explore what lies behind the persistent gap between IT professionals and business users. We’ll explore the challenges they face, and highlight how Triggre, a flexible software solution, fosters collaboration, drives innovation, and caters to the ever-increasing expectations of customers and stakeholders in the dynamic business landscape. 

 

IT Professionals

IT professionals, the often-underappreciated heroes behind the scenes, deserve the utmost respect for their vital work. Unfortunately, their contributions are frequently overlooked, regardless of how well the company’s software systems are functioning. They are the ones who bear the brunt of the blame when something goes awry.

In recent years, due to relentless cycles of mounting pressure and minimal recognition, IT departments worldwide have taken on a broader range of responsibilities. This might ensure increased stability but also holds them accountable for any challenges that arise. This shift promotes a culture of embracing mistakes as opportunities for growth and driving continuous improvements in the long term.

Business Units

In recent years, globalisation has significantly elevated customers’ expectations worldwide. With multiple suppliers to choose from, business units face increasing challenges in delivering exceptional “added value” to consumers, especially in terms of customer experience.

The inherent challenge with added value lies in how easily it can be imitated by competitors. With this in mind, it becomes crucial for a business unit to quickly implement its unique processes and set itself apart from the competition. By doing so, the unit can secure a longer-lasting competitive edge and maintain its position in the market.

Finding Common Ground Between Business Units and IT Departments

The dynamic between business units and IT often leads to challenges, with business units prioritising rapid process implementation while IT focus on control and stability. Despite good intentions, misunderstandings can arise. While IT emphasises robust software solutions like Microsoft, SAP, or Oracle, business units value solutions that promote time efficiency and flexibility. Striking a balance between these perspectives and recognising the significance of collaboration is essential for organisational success.

The key to bridging the gap between IT and business units lies in embracing a flexible solution that combines stability and control. IT plays a crucial role in ensuring seamless operations, particularly for application integration and core data processes. However, flexibility can be integrated into the processes built upon the core foundation. Empowering business users with the ability to easily create software using IT-managed core processes and data is vital. With Triggre, a 100% no-code platform for making business applications, your organisation will have the freedom, speed, and flexibility needed to effectively cater to both customers and stakeholders.

Why visionary IT departments are allowing business units to make software themselves

Several CIOs and IT managers view developing their own software as a potential solution to issues such as understaffed IT departments, the adverse effects of hiring external IT consultants, or budgetary constraints.

However, IT departments and CIOs are often apprehensive about allowing business units to create software by themselves. This concern is understandable, as IT departments often receive little recognition when things run smoothly, only to bear the brunt of the blame when issues arise.

So, why should IT departments be happy with platforms like Triggre that allow business units to create their own software?

 

Programming: Past, Present and Future

Since the 1950s, computers and programming have become increasingly user-friendly, allowing a broader section of the population to engage with them. This ease of use has also made its way into software development, with increasingly accessible programming languages replacing more complex ones. While programming remains challenging, exceptional mathematical skills are no longer required to do it.

History tells us that those IT departments currently striving to maintain the status quo are fighting a losing battle. Software creation will only become easier and more accessible as time goes on, and forward-thinking IT managers and CIOs must be ready to seize this opportunity.

The IT Department of Tomorrow

The solution for forward-thinking IT departments ultimately lies in letting business units make their own software. In practice, this means the IT department taking on a support role, in which it offers services rather than comprehensive solutions. Their job is to safeguard core data and processes whilst offering accessible APIs and other services; enabling business units to independently develop software on top of the existing infrastructure.

Look at how we currently work with email, file access and communication nowadays compared to the past. At one time, it was common for companies to enforce strict control over employees' access to email, file systems, and communication tools with fully configured machines controlled by IT.

By contrast, the employees of today demand the flexibility to make use of these resources via their devices. IT departments have risen to the challenge by offering a more service-oriented approach and tailoring access options to individual preferences. This allows people to select their email client and smartphone brand of choice whilst also enjoying seamless access to platforms like Skype, Teams, or Slack. File access can be provided over VPN, even from mobile devices.

Companies can also apply this service-oriented approach to their internal software ecosystem. The IT department maintains the core systems and an access layer (e.g., BizTalk, WebMethods, or Mule), to house critical information such as customer details, contact information, and product data for accurate invoicing. Departments are then empowered to develop their own software applications to support customers, utilising the core systems for essential customer and product data. Department-specific systems can be created using the right tools, accommodating department-specific information and processes.

How Triggre helps innovative IT departments and business units

"Separation of concerns" is a computer science term that means dividing an organisation into distinct parts, thereby making a complex system modular and easier to manage. This is also the case for companies and other organisations which are usually separated into business units and departments, each with a specific concern and set of responsibilities. We’ll shortly delve into a detailed examination of each of the four major responsibilities within Triggre, which include security against hackers, data integrity, speed of development and simplification.

With Triggre, the challenge lies in determining where to establish these divisions. In order to enable business users to create software, it is essential to consider the tasks related to software development that must be carried out and align them with the business's objectives.

The Designer and the Builder

 

Triggre comprises two distinct components: the designer and the builder. The former is where applications are created, while the latter creates the code and publishes the application. Within the designer, the focus lies on the separation of concerns discussed previously.

Triggre offers users different environments for publishing applications. The first is the Main environment, where your application can be published when you want your customers and/or colleagues to work with it. The second is the Lab environment, which can be used for testing. If you have a good idea for a new process, for example, you would design it and publish the update to the Lab environment in order to test it out. In a nutshell, it is this division between the Main and Lab environments that enables users to carry out various responsibilities.

Security against hackers

Triggre provides built-in security mechanisms that are applied to your published application in any environment. User roles and accounts are managed separately. This means that an account created in the Lab environment won't work in the Main environment unless you create the same account with an identical password in both. So, even if someone does have access to the Lab version, they can't use the Main version unless you explicitly allow them to do so.

Technical Integrity

Technical testing is essential in software development due to the inherent difficulty of writing defect-free software. This complexity is amplified when multiple systems are needed to interact and handle data accurately. Triggre's builder ensures reliability through comprehensive testing.

On top of this, data exchange between systems requires its own testing in a separate environment with test data. Triggre's Lab environment allows for this by enabling distinct connections for different environments. In this way, the Lab environment can be configured to connect to test systems while the Main environment remains connected to live systems. This significantly lowers the risk of accidentally connecting the wrong systems.

Data integrity

Maintaining both technical integrity and data integrity is crucial in software development. One aspect of data integrity involves preventing accidental connections between test and live systems, which often leads to complications and data restoration challenges.

However, data integrity is about more than just connections. Another more subtle issue arises when test systems contain live customer data, such as email addresses, and automated processes inadvertently send real reminders to customers from the test environment. To address this issue, Triggre provides a solution by filtering Lab environment emails and directing them to a designated testing email address. This ensures that customers are never exposed to test information, saving both IT departments and business units a considerable number of headaches.

Speed of development

Triggre can help you speed up development by resolving major issues that trouble IT departments. It eliminates the need for constant IT consultation for the smallest changes, thereby allowing business units to carry out changes to the application as quickly and easily as possible. Triggre manages the application seamlessly, ensuring it behaves as expected during both testing and deployment.

Simplification

With Triggre, we strive for simplicity whilst empowering business users to create their own software. However, we’re also aware of the essential role of IT when it comes to software development and usage. We hope that the article you have just read has provided you with a helpful overview of the key things that were considered during the design and development of Triggre. If you’re looking for more information or want to book a demo, don't hesitate to get in touch!