From Innovations, a website published by Ziff-Davis Enterprise from mid-2006 to mid-2009. Reprinted by permission.

Technology continually invades IT organizations through the back door but that doesn’t have to be a problem. You just need to learn to manage renegade users.

As devices become ever-cheaper and more functional and the Internet presents tantalizing new options for application delivery, users have more opportunity than ever to make mischief.

Not intentional mischief, mind you, but the kind that comes about when over-eager users bypass the IT organization end bring new technology into the work place without proper approvals or protections. It’s a phenomenon that dates back to the early days of PCs: technology comes into organization through the back door and spreads like kudzu. The IT department finds out too late about the problem and then spends valuable personnel and money getting things under control.

It doesn’t have to be that way, though. Tech-savvy users – I call them “renegades” –  can be great allies of the IT organization. Smart IT managers put their egos aside and focus on responding to the need the renegades are addressing, rather than shutting them down. Renegades often come up with innovative solutions and can be the company’s best salespeople for new ideas. You just need to listen.

Here are some strategies that I’ve seen tech departments use successfully to make the most of disruption.

Form a committee. Most users don’t want to fight their IT organization. Rather, their actions grow out of frustration with approval processes or the slow pace of change.  Instead of shutting them down, explain to them the importance of standards, controls, backed up and security. I invite them to form a committee with representatives from the IT group to figure out how to develop their ideas. Promise to put some budget dollars behind the initiative if the ROI is there. Set deadlines and deliverables and carry through on the users’ recommendations. Make them into extensions of the IT organization and turn them into your advocates.

Propose an alternative. Users are generally open to alternative approaches to solving their problems. Sneaking products in through the back door is just a call for help. Offer to study the problem and secure an appropriate solution, with the full participation of the users. Insist, once again, that users take a disciplined approach to measuring value. Promise action by a specific date, and plan on delivering on that promise.

Set up a lab. One way to get out front of the renegades is to create an advanced technology lab where users and IT professionals can experiment with new technology. Invite your most enthusiastic customers to submit suggestions for new products you should acquire for evaluation. Put the lab behind a firewall, set up a checkout system so users can take technology home or on the road with them and then let them play. This has the advantage of buying you deniability. If users fail to take advantage of this resource, you’re in a much better position to shut down their back-door maneuvers.

Hire them! This strategy is a little risky and politically delicate, but some of the best IT people I’ve known have started out in other departments. It turned out that they had a passion for technology and, given the opportunity to develop that passion into a career, found IT to be a rewarding profession. If you need someone to run that advanced tech lab, for instance, the person may already be in your business analytics or market research department. Don’t ignore the possibility that tomorrow’s valuable new employee may be today’s renegade.

Above all, keep an open mind. Among the mainstream technologies of today that came in through the back door are PCs, BlackBerries, local-area networks, the Internet, cell phones and e-mail. Managed properly, your renegades are your best scouts.

What tactics have you used to manage the introduction of new technology effectively?  Let me know in the comments area below.