For years, building software was a closed club. You needed to know languages, architectures and complicated tools. Now someone in marketing, HR, operations or sales can build a prototype or automate a chore with a bit of AI help. In his opinion piece, Gavin Rotach, Head of Group IT at Zühlke, looks at what that shift really means for companies. His starting point: no-code and low-code development, plus generative AI, have lowered the barriers to creating technology.
Faster fixes, fewer queues
The upside is easy to see. People can solve their own problems without waiting in the IT department’s priority line. A small app or automation that once needed a ticket and a month can appear in an afternoon.
The catch nobody sees coming
Rotach points out that when solutions no longer come from one specialized team, the risks spread too. Security gaps, quality problems and data protection holes become more likely. And the people building and enjoying the speed may not even know what they’re exposing. That raises questions every company has to answer: who may create technology here, who handles it afterwards, and what should IT’s role be?
Guardrails instead of gates
The tempting reaction is tighter control. Rotach says that would be a mistake. The goal is experimentation with awareness, accountability and clear rules, so innovation continues while governance stays in place.
That changes IT’s job. It can no longer be only a gatekeeper deciding what is allowed. It has to become a facilitator, setting the conditions under which other teams can innovate safely. Think of a playground with a fence rather than a locked gate: kids still run, but they don’t wander into traffic.
Responsibility doesn’t vanish with AI
AI can produce solutions with impressive speed, yet the person using them must still understand, question and confirm the result. A smart tool doesn’t remove accountability. In this setting, the skill that matters most is the ability to adapt. Technical knowledge is easier to reach than ever, so what sets professionals apart is how well they learn, experiment and keep pace with change.
His conclusion is balanced. Democratizing technology creation is a real opportunity for companies, but it pays off only with digital literacy, shared responsibility and an IT department that acts as a facilitator.
For readers curious how digital companies are adjusting to this, the conversation is beginning, and IT industry news is a good way to follow where it goes next.
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