Innovating Business by Controlling End User Computing

End User Computing (EUC) is on the rise again. One of the dirty little secrets of many organizations is that business leaders still rely on spreadsheets to make decisions but even more concerning is that statistics are showing that ChatGPT has permeated 80 percent of Fortune 500 companies without being properly trained on how to use the tool.

There are many cautionary tales in recent years of regulatory actions that typically stemmed from failures in risk management, data integrity, and compliance related to the use of EUC tools such as spreadsheets, databases, and other user-developed applications. While EUC is certainly not a new concept (having been around for decades), and many new tools have been produced over the years to eliminate the original issues, the recent rise of GenAI has empowered business executives to once again apply EUC techniques to meet their time to requirements outside of IT governance.

So, as you can imagine, this availability of ChatGPT and other free GenAI tools is starting to put organizations at risk again. Understanding the nuances of EUC and how to recognize associated risks will be your first step towards bridging the needs of the line of business with information technology in 2025 and handle the intersection of EUC and governance.

Demystifying End User Computing and Recognizing Associated Risks

Put simply End User Computing (EUC) is realized when (usually non-technical) business users take it upon themselves (outside of IT’s oversight) to create their own working business applications. This is usually done with readily available existing tools such as spreadsheets, databases, and other user-developed applications, especially with the use of ChatGPT, that are often created to meet specific, immediate business needs.

EUC exists because business demands speed, and current IT infrastructure is not setup for flexibility or the ability to democratize data and democratize AI. While EUC can enhance flexibility and responsiveness and shows the promise of answering many current digital transformation project challenges, it also introduces risks related to data integrity, security, compliance, and operational efficiency if not properly managed. This has the potential to introduce huge problems in certain industries like banking and financial services as well as all public companies.

Recognizing and understanding the potential impact of EUC risks is paramount. The associated risks can include:

• Governance and compliance: If you are in a regulated industry such as financial services or a publicly traded company then every business decision has the potential for impact by governance and compliance. Ensuring those decisions are within regulatory guideline becomes extremely difficult in situations where EUC tools are still in play.
  
  There have been many documented instances where regulators have issued consent orders, consent decrees, or fines related to EUC practices stemming from failures in risk management, data integrity, and compliance related to the use of EUC tools. Examples such as the “London Whale” trading debacle where Excel errors and risk oversights cost JP Morgan $6B, Citigroup fined $79M by regulators for ‘fat-finger’ failures in risk-weighted asset calculations, and Bank of America paid $16.65 Billion in historic Justice Department settlement for issues related to the improper use of spreadsheets for calculating settlements on mortgage-backed securities highlight the level of potential financial impact when EUC doesn’t take governance and compliance oversight into account.
  
  
• Data integrity and accuracy: Any business decision is only as good as the quality and integrity of the data providing the information that decision is based upon. When EUC tools, and especially new GenAI tools are employed, the quality of that data and the inherent bias of the AI model will directly impact outcomes.
  
  The cost of poor data quality is very real and significant. According to Gartner “poor data quality costs organizations at least $12.9 million a year on average.” Many regulatory actions focus on ensuring the integrity and accuracy of data processed through EUC applications. This includes requiring robust validation, reconciliation, and audit trails.
  
  
• Security and privacy: It may be a surprise to learn that cybersecurity edges out AI in the list of CIO priorities for 2025. But it shouldn’t be if you recognize the risk companies are currently taking when EUC tools are still active. Companies are required to maintain comprehensive documentation of their EUC applications, including their purpose, usage, and the controls in place. Transparency in how these tools are managed is a key regulatory expectation as well and regulators emphasize the importance of training and awareness programs to ensure that end-users understand the risks associated with EUC applications and adhere to established policies and procedures in order to protect the data.
  
  Knowing where your data is stored and how it is being accessed at all times is required. Unfortunately, this is not always the case when EUC practices are in place and according to an IBM study in 2024 “40% of data breaches involved data stored across multiple environments. Breached data stored in public clouds incurred the highest average breach cost at USD 5.17 million.”

So how can you meet the speed requirements of business while satisfying the governance requirements of IT without the potential harm of EUC?

Control and Manage EUC for Business Innovation with an Intelligent Cloud

UBIX provides a solution to control and manage EUC, giving your business the ability to innovate on top of any infrastructure allowing you to change out the problem over night with an Intelligent Cloud. We meet you where you are and transform innovation.

Emerging open source, no-code intelligent cloud solutions like UBIX can deliver on the promise of an enterprise data intelligence platform and end user computing to supercharge the quality of reporting and analysis with a decision intelligent cloud. By consuming all on-premise infrastructure, cloud-based infrastructure and cloud application datasets directly, UBIX makes the integration seamless and ensures that your existing data assets are fully utilized by line of business (LOB) executives with a simple natural language query all within corporate governance and regulatory protocols. This also frees data scientists and data analysts to address innovations instead of generating more superfluous reports.

Resources for More EUC and Intelligent Cloud Education

Realizing the promise of End User Computing correctly starts with an understanding of the realities (as opposed to the hype) of emerging GenAI with a decision intelligent cloud and how a no code solution can deliver on the promise of bridging the communication gap between the average business executive and the average technical/IT resource has never been easier.

Download our free eBook titled “Solving the Problem of Data and Decision Making” to help better understand the details of emerging GenAI concepts and how to ensure digital transformation and business-led AI success. Or if you can spare 22 minutes for a mini–2025 Intelligent Cloud Workshop, you can contact one of our experts today.