Welcome to the OutBACE Articles

Increasingly – we’re seeing IT governance teams spending their focus and energy on stopping shadow IT, rather than focusing on enabling business improvement – and hurting the businesses that we’re ALL part of. 

So - let’s ask ourselves why are we really here?

I know, I know, I know! That statement will ruffle feathers in IT governance and enterprise architecture circles. But hear me out……

For years, the mindset in many organisations has been that “shadow IT” is a disease — something to be eradicated in the name of strategy, control, and risk management. But what if we’ve been looking at it the wrong way round?

Markets and industries everywhere are shifting fast. Whether you're in FMCG, life sciences, hi-tech manufacturing, automotive, energy or publishing — organisations face the same reality: markets are moving relentlessly, complexity is rising, tariffs come (and go – and come back again), and the cost of inefficiency is no longer tolerable.

How do you adapt? Never mind grow and scale - without being pulled apart by complexity and moving goalposts.

Growth achieved is good news, but it brings a hidden problem: without cohesion, growth multiplies complexity; processes drift apart, systems don't connect, data doesn't help, people get stuck in making workarounds work rather than adding value – and organisations get in their own way whilst trying to achieve better things.