What can IT do to avert such problems? "Get out in front of the whole thing," Gillett says.

"Agility is really a big deal on the business side in ways that it not always is in IT," Cramm says. "So if you can show that you're moving more quickly this year than last, and help users change more quickly, that will play a role in reducing the number of times people go outside."

Among the value-adds that IT can bring is security. Business units pay little attention to the kinds of data they're using on what platforms or what risk that creates, Schreck says. IT managers who can demonstrate how they can increase security without making the whole process more kludgy will get support from business managers.

Create definitions of the types of data the company uses and which can be used or shared in environments with different levels of security, adds Schreck. That will go a long way toward showing business managers that IT knows how to protect them and help expand their abilities at the same time. In short, create security and usage policies that are easy to follow and business units will go along, he says.