The business side of the house can sometimes have a tenuous relationship with IT, be it real or perceived. At its core, the most common issue we hear with enterprise IT is they just don’t move fast enough, often because of very real interdependencies between back-end systems which aren’t apparent to the business, but can come across as resistant to quick change. As a former CIO and IT Manager I can tell you it’s a tough balancing act (made worse when the two sides are beyond speaking or listening).

Now, as a consultant, I have seen how this can manifest itself first hand as the business moved to bring in Shadow IT and an already stressed relationship eroded further. We often get brought in by the business, rather than IT, to help solve issues or build out a new farm. While on the surface there is nothing inherently wrong with this approach, where it breaks down is when the business goes about this without the knowledge of IT.

I do think that for some initiatives this works okay, and the business can ask forgiveness later. In the case of SharePoint, however, this approach may not always yield the best results. Here are some reasons why it's important to have a strong relationship between IT and The Business.

1. SharePoint requires a lot of infrastructure.

For an enterprise deployment you could be looking at upwards of four servers for a small farm. Someone has to deploy these, maintain them, and make sure they are being backed up. SharePoint needs to be considered as part of the larger disaster recovery plan and strategy, as well as how the new data will be backed up and secured (not to mention separate environments and servers).

2. SQL Server is needed as one of the four servers mentioned above.

Problem with SQL is it is usually in demand, and in most cases already taxed. SharePoint needs its own SQL server that "should not" be used by other applications. This may necessitate the create rework of existing SQL servers, or a new one, both of which can disrupt other operations.

3. SharePoint licensing may be needed along with SQL server.

SharePoint comes in two flavors: Standard and Enterprise. Understanding what features you will want will determine which route you need to go. Licensing however needs to typically be down with the rest of your licensing, which is generally owned by IT. Not to mention the costs and who is going to pay for what!

4. Governance for SharePoint is a key component for any deployment.

How will this new platform be maintained, what are the SLA's to the business, who can do what, and how. All important things that need to be considered, and IT plays a big role in operational governance of the platform.

5. SharePoint relies heavily on Active Directory (AD).

Understanding how to connect to AD, and how security is maintained will be helpful as the project moves forward. AD will have a big impact on the overall success of the project, and we know who owns AD.

Not having a warm and fuzzy relationship with IT may be your reality, and one you have to bridge. You will need IT to help with your project, and the sooner you bring them in, the better off you will be. Waiting until things need to be done or expecting resources will likely cause delays, defensive roadblocks, and other unpleasantness which will negatively impact the project. It takes two to bridge the gap between you (the business) and IT, so start your SharePoint implementation off strong on good terms by keeping channels of communication open and transparent with IT. 

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