Who should lead the project: IT or the business?
Both, but the business is in the driving seat. IT makes sure the whole thing holds together and stays secure. A project led by technology alone often answers a question nobody was asking.
Updated on 24 October 2026
What is going on.
In many companies, AI was first handed to the IT department: it is technology, so it belongs to the technicians. In others, business teams took the lead, buying their own tools without waiting.
Neither situation holds. A project led by IT alone risks answering a question the business is not asking. A project led by the business alone risks creating isolated, fragile and insecure tools. The split that works is clear: the business decides what needs to change and answers for the result; IT guarantees that the whole is reliable, secure and maintainable.
What we observe.
- The business knows where the value is.It is the business teams who live with the bottlenecks, the re-keying and the customers’ expectations.
- IT sees what the business does not.Security, integration with existing systems, running costs: what makes a tool last.
- Tools bought directly often end up with IT.It inherits their maintenance without having chosen them.
What you can do right now.
- For each project, name an owner on the business side and an owner on the IT side, and write down who decides what.
- Have projects presented to committees by the business, not by the technical team.
- Agree with IT on the common rules every tool must follow, before the business buys anything.