Business-Led Tech Spending Drives Innovation

As the roles of IT and business continue to blur, it's inevitable that an increasing share of technology spending is now overseen by non-tech managers. But there's a bright side to this trend: It's paving the way for more innovation, according to a recent survey from CEB (formerly known as the Corporate Executive Board). The accompanying report, titled "Executive Guidance: Harnessing Business-Led IT," reveals that IT professionals harbor significant reservations about these developments, especially when it concerns increased risks. But findings also show that the input of business is increasing capabilities related to collaborative tools, automation and customer-facing interface systems. "Business-led IT is another—often better, cheaper—way to achieve the goals of the IT department, particularly when it comes to innovation and testing out new digital capabilities," says Andrew Horne, managing director at CEB. "The goal is to improve the success rate of these technology investments, regardless of who came up with the idea." An estimated 16,000 global professionals, representing all organizational levels, took part in the research.