IT: Plumbing or Business Development?

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This article explores the dual role of IT in organisations, balancing foundational “plumbing” functions with innovative business development. It discusses Gartner’s bimodal IT framework, highlighting the operational stability provided by Mode 1 and the experimental growth enabled by Mode 2. Topics such as cost centres versus profit centres, cybersecurity investment, and the integration of IT and OT are examined to underline the necessity of a balanced approach. The conclusion emphasises the importance of aligning these roles for operational efficiency and strategic growth.

Organisations today rely heavily on IT to support their operations and drive their strategies. Within this context, IT often serves one of two roles: plumbing or business development. The former ensures that foundational systems are operational and reliable, while the latter leverages technology as a tool for innovation and growth. This dual role is encapsulated in the concept of bimodal IT, introduced by Gartner, which highlights the coexistence of these responsibilities in modern IT departments.

IT as Plumbing

When we think of plumbing, it is the unseen infrastructure that underpins daily life—pipes that carry water, sewage systems, and heating networks. IT as plumbing works in a similar way, focusing on the backbone of an organisation’s technology landscape. This involves:

  1. Maintenance and Operations: Ensuring servers, networks, and databases function seamlessly.
  2. Stability and Security: Protecting data integrity and ensuring business continuity.
  3. Cost Efficiency: Minimising expenditure on routine operations while maximising performance.

These functions are the unsung heroes of IT, ensuring that email servers, ERP systems, and cloud platforms are operational at all times. This is Mode 1 in Gartner’s bimodal IT framework, which emphasises reliability, efficiency, and predictability. Mode 1 is often associated with legacy systems such as client-server, midrange, and mainframe stacks.

IT as Business Development

In contrast, IT as business development positions technology as a strategic enabler. This approach sees IT not just as a cost centre but as a value generator. Key facets include:

  1. Customer-Centric Innovations: Developing applications or platforms that improve customer experience.
  2. Revenue Generation: Creating new digital products or services that open up new market opportunities.
  3. Agility and Experimentation: Employing iterative development and rapid prototyping to test new ideas.

This represents Mode 2 in bimodal IT, where agility, speed, and adaptability are paramount. Mode 2 typically utilises newer digital and cloud stacks to experiment with emerging technologies such as AI, blockchain, and IoT to drive competitive advantage.

Cost Centres vs. Product Centres

The distinction between plumbing and business development often aligns with the divide between cost centres and product centres. IT as plumbing is typically viewed as a cost centre—a necessary expenditure for maintaining operations. Cost centres are frequently subjected to cost-reduction exercises and commodification, with organisations seeking to minimise their impact on the bottom line.

Conversely, IT as business development aligns with profit centres, where the focus is on revenue generation and profitability. Investments in profit centres are often evaluated through frameworks like the Boston Matrix, which categorises business initiatives as:

  1. Stars: High-growth areas with significant revenue potential, often the focus of Mode 2 IT efforts.
  2. Cash Cows: Mature and reliable revenue generators that require ongoing support from Mode 1 IT.
  3. Dogs: Low-growth areas that may be candidates for divestment or minimal investment.
  4. Question Marks: High-potential but uncertain initiatives that require careful resource allocation.

IT investments in business development are typically aligned with stars and cash cows, ensuring that resources are directed towards areas of growth and sustained profitability.

The Cybersecurity Factor in IT Spend

Cybersecurity is a critical consideration in IT cost spend, intersecting with both plumbing and business development. In Mode 1, cybersecurity focuses on protecting the organisation’s operational backbone—defending legacy systems, ensuring data integrity, and maintaining regulatory compliance. This often translates into significant spending on:

  1. Firewalls and Intrusion Detection Systems: Protecting the network perimeter.
  2. Endpoint Security Solutions: Securing devices connected to the network.
  3. Monitoring and Incident Response: Ensuring rapid detection and mitigation of breaches.

Cybersecurity in this context is often seen as part of the cost centre, with expenditures justified as necessary risk management measures. Cutting costs here can lead to vulnerabilities that threaten the organisation’s stability.

In Mode 2, cybersecurity shifts to enabling innovation and growth. By integrating cybersecurity into digital transformation initiatives, organisations can build trust with customers and unlock new revenue streams. Key areas of investment include:

  1. Secure Application Development: Embedding security into DevOps pipelines.
  2. Zero Trust Architectures: Ensuring that access to systems and data is continuously verified.
  3. Cyber Risk Analytics: Leveraging AI and big data to predict and mitigate future threats.

Cybersecurity spending in Mode 2 aligns closely with profit centres, as it directly supports business innovation and customer confidence. For example, a retail company deploying a new AI-driven recommendation engine must also ensure the system’s security to protect sensitive customer data.

The Bimodal IT Balance

Organisations cannot afford to prioritise one role over the other. The plumbing, or Mode 1, provides the robust and secure foundation on which businesses operate, while Mode 2 enables organisations to innovate and grow. The Gartner definition of bimodal IT highlights this balance, describing two separate but coherent styles of work:

  • Mode 1: Optimised for predictability and well-understood areas, focusing on renovating legacy systems for a digital world.
  • Mode 2: Exploratory and experimental, addressing areas of uncertainty with short iterations and minimum viable products (MVPs).

A well-executed bimodal IT strategy allows an organisation to focus on immediate operational needs while simultaneously pursuing long-term innovation goals. However, achieving this balance requires:

  • Clear Governance: Establishing distinct roles and responsibilities for each mode.
  • Cultural Integration: Bridging the cultural gap between Mode 1 (traditional IT) and Mode 2 (innovative IT).
  • Investment in Skills: Training IT staff to navigate both operational and strategic demands.

IT vs. OT: Bridging the Gap

Another critical consideration is the divide between IT (Information Technology) and OT (Operational Technology). While IT focuses on data and digital systems, OT manages physical systems such as manufacturing equipment, medical devices, and energy grids. Historically, organisations have underinvested in OT security and innovation, treating it as a secondary concern.

Examples of OT stacks include:

  • Healthcare: Networked medical devices in hospitals, face increasing cybersecurity risks.
  • Manufacturing: Industrial control systems and IoT-enabled equipment.
  • Energy: Smart grids and renewable energy systems.

Bridging the IT-OT divide is essential to ensure that operational technologies receive the same level of strategic attention and security as IT systems. This alignment can unlock new efficiencies and innovations across industries.

Plumbing Without Business Development is a Missed Opportunity

An organisation that focuses solely on IT as plumbing risks stagnation. While it may excel in operational efficiency, it fails to exploit the transformative potential of technology to drive business outcomes. For instance, banks that merely maintain their legacy systems miss opportunities to revolutionise customer experience through fintech innovations.

Business Development Without Plumbing is Chaos

Conversely, prioritising IT solely as business development without a solid operational backbone leads to chaos. Imagine launching a groundbreaking AI-driven customer service bot, only to have your servers crash under the increased load. Innovation without reliable infrastructure is unsustainable.

Conclusion

IT, at its best, is both plumbing and business development. By adopting a bimodal approach, organisations can ensure they remain both operationally robust and strategically innovative. Cybersecurity, as a critical factor in IT spend, bridges these modes by safeguarding the foundational systems while enabling transformative growth. The question for IT leaders is not which mode to prioritise but how to integrate the two effectively. In a world where technology is increasingly the linchpin of business success, the organisations that master this balance will be the ones that thrive.