What at first seems illogical is often reality:

Instead of being the drivers of digital transformation, IT departments are often the very ones who slow it down.

This is because even today, corporate IT generally still follows the logic of a poorly linked IT pyramid that is highly reactive, proprietary, and inflexible.

This is what the online magazine “Informatik Aktuell” reported in June last year.

Today, companies need applications that quickly adapt to new processes while minimizing the manual effort of routine tasks. To date, however, IT has been unable to adequately solve the vast variety of interfaces and the low level of integration between the various IT systems. Why is that?

A paradigm shift is necessary

In IT departments – just like in many management circles and operational units – the mindsets and paradigms of the past still prevail. And why should it be any different? Familiar structures give us security. Moreover, through their expert knowledge, IT departments have amassed a lot of power over the years: After all, they play a major role in determining the organization of work of the entire company. Of course no one wants to let go of that!

As a result, employees need to follow the rigid requirements of grown IT structures instead of IT structures being geared to the needs of a modern company.

The users determine the result

But without a change in mindset and behavior renewal is not possible. And innovation projects are usually implemented by operative staff – i.e. the users of IT. This means that they are the ones who should determine which functions and processes an application must enable – and not the IT department!