Technology: Are 'End-Run Rogues' Outlaws or Heroes?

Rogue IT.  It’s not a new term, but it’s one that is popping up more often.  But the definition is changing.  And depending on your definition, it can be either a good or a bad thing.

The original use of the term ‘Rogue IT‘ describes disgruntled IT workers and the paths that they take to avenge their anger.  Rogue IT happens when IT staff abuse their knowledge  of passwords and their trusted access to sensitive data.  While some companies may have systems with audits and checks and balances in place to thwart this kind of activity, the fact is that there will always be IT workers with engough keys and enough system knowledge to know how to cause considerable havoc, if they are so inclined.  Rogue IT behavior that falls under this definition is anything but ‘cool’.  In fact it is more like a nightmare.  PC Magazine describes a few noteworthy examples of the destructiveness of this type of ‘Rogue IT’.

But the term ‘Rogue IT’ is increasingly being used to describe  not only out-of-control IT staff members, but also to describe non-IT employees who basically attempt to by-pass the will of the central IT department.

There are typically two types to this ‘end-run’ sort of Rogue IT.  The first happens when a group or department in the organization has sufficient budget to deploy their own software and possibly even set up their own shadow IT.  The second happens when end-users begin downloading, installing and then using software which IT has not approved.

It’s the first category of end-run rogues that are occassionally hailed.  These are the business units that take a more hands-on approach in controlling the technology which they use.  In many cases these rogues are actually making their business units more productive.  Joe McKendrick even called this kind of Rogue IT ‘cool’.

Consumer web-based applications and cloud services are only accelerating the trend towards creating more ‘end-run rogues’.  Both non-IT department and staff are increasingly using technology which the IT department hasn’t approved, or more likely, which IT hasn’t even been given the opportunity to approve.

This sort of Rogue IT behavior is becoming rampant.  Forrester Research, for example,  reports that 69 percent of business managers are reserving part of their budget to directly purchase tech services, rather than going through IT.

Cloud vendors are keenly aware of the shift in decision making and many, if not most, specifically target business units with their message rather than catering to IT.  And that makes sense.  Forrester found that 56 percent of SaaS purchases are driven by business units with business process and operations problems that need to be solved.

So, are end-run rogues Outlaws or Heroes?  Maybe a little of both.  One thing that  is clear though is that the behavior of these rogues is reshaping the IT organization.