Over the last few months I have been both consulting and job hunting. As I talk to companies about information technology positions, it has been stunning to reflect on the growing scope of IT management over time.
1960s: Most companies did not have an IT department. Maybe there was somebody who knew how to fix the typewriter when it jammed.
1970s: Data processing departments began to spring up, as somebody had to manage the mainframe computer and the dumb terminals attached to it.
1980s: The PC enters the workplace. Geeks gravitate toward it, and soon companies need PC experts to keep the systems running.
1990s: PCs are everywhere and they're all talking to each other. Then they connect to the Internet and talk to computers at other companies. IT departments begin to grow exponentially.
2000s: The PC is everywhere, and smaller versions are in many hands -- literally, with cellphones and PDAs -- and are being used to control the majority of the enterprise.
As I talk to various IT departments, the scope of what they manage appears to be growing everyday:
Telephones: Once upon a time the office manager ran the phone system. Today the average phone system has more computer power than the computers that put the first man on the moon! It’s long past the time when the office manager owned the phone system.
Security: Locks used to be the main form of security in buildings and the office manager had a big cabinet of keys. Today few folks have actual keys to go in the “front door” of an office building. You have security cards or security codes, and these systems are administered via a computer system.
Video security: Where locks are not enough, cameras are put in place. But no longer do these cameras tie to VCR tapes that somebody swaps; the camera is a digital feed stored on a computer. I know of a company that suffered a major midnight break-in, and all the evidence turned over to the police came from the IT department.
Copiers: Some folks will remember making copies by the mimeograph machine. Others might even remember carbon paper, and most folks will recognize the copy machine. However, today in many offices the copy machine is not a standalone device but is a printer on the network. This takes one more device out of the hands of the office manager and into the domain of the IT department.
Photos: My dad was a technical writer and part-time photographer. I still remember the reels of slides and stacks of photos that were in his office when I went to visit in the 1960s. Today all those photos are digital images residing on hard drives that require backing up or hosted sites that require, in turn, some type of use/security policy. Imagine if my dad had taken these stacks of photos, slides, and negatives over to the data processing guys in 1968 and said "Hey, guess what, you’re now in charge of storage and backup for all these images."
But what really blew me away was a recent article that celebrated the opening of Kellogg House at the University of Virginia (my wife's alma mater) this fall. Kellogg House offers both wired and wireless Internet access. Maybe that would have been a big deal when I went to college, but today that is the norm. However, the technology at Kellogg House goes a step further: “Students can even use their computers to help with their laundry, monitoring the first-floor laundry room to see how many machines are available or how soon those in use will become free. Once a load of wash is started, students can program the machine to notify them, via computer, when it is done.”
So the IT folks at the UVA are also partially responsible for the laundry room. My mind boggles at the thought of the potential help-desk call from the hungover college student, “Which goes in first, the soap or my email address?”
Information technology is venturing into every part of the business world, which will provide ongoing challenges and opportunities for IT staff in the coming years. I don’t think the kitchen sink is wired into the network, but who knows what 2009 will bring?
— David Silversmith, Internet and Web analytics consultant and former CTO of Carfax
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I think security has yet to play a vital role in further promotion of IT. The problem is that Security experts always project their case based on technical grounds whereas the Management does not understand the technical terms. I think security experts and IT professionals must learn to present their case in simple business language like profit and loss and reputation of the organization. These terms are well know to all those who have deep pockets in management,
A cultural change (requiring IT staff to socialize with the rest of organization to make it easier for proposed actions to be adapted) is certainly something that is required by IT people.
Nevertheless, bundling a more business oriented language for IT related issues also helps. Organizations are accustomed to think of IT as a cost center and not a profit center. This is why IT investments and/or IT propositions fall back in priority.
When IT senior management starts discussing in real money terms (how much is saved, how much is gained) then more are the ears willing to hear the messenger.
Yet again, I certainly agree that socializing is a good corporate politics/tactics to be embraced by IT to help them make it their own way.
As is occasionally proved (and often painfully late) IT depts have a point, though, they rarely show the necessary skills to persuade the rest. And this is a result of the language/arguments used and the relationships maintained within the organization.
Interesting how the scope of IT multiples with Devices. Read my threads and you will see the constant theme is Web 3.0 will be about the cloud and the device, not the Server and the PC. The question is when.
I am not not the only person predicting the demise of the PC. This was supposed to be the year the WinTel world went toes up.
But not so fast- Look at this link- PC Sales at a new high.
These are excellent points that remind us of the ubiquitous role that IT is playing in business and in our daily lives.
I think not only does IT need to be more visible, but become the champion and lead communicator in the increasing role that IT plays in any functioning business or ogranization in providing access and value to information. When people begin to understand the new role and the critical support that IT performs in operations and business intelligence, it will increase the respect and value for IT.
The new titles and concepts of Chief Information Officers may be moving in the right direction!
I couldn't agree with you more, IT Professionals must get out and meet with people. If they are an internal IT professional for a enterprise type business they can not afford to sit behind their desk. They must get out a meet with users, interact with them, share tips and tricks. Now, if you are an IT Professional working for a consulting firm, then getting out must be multiplied by a factor of 10.
I have seen so many IT Professionals struggle with this simple concept of talking with people and just taking care of the social side of business. Many times IT Professionals focus on the technical side of the business and often the personal side of business is left behind.
So I agree, it is time for IT Professionals to get out and meet, social and create long term relationships.
As a Core IT person,I get really excited when I see postings like yours that expand the Scope and Devlopment avenues of IT.
But all one has to do is take part in a couple of board meetings and that's where all the best IT suggestions get steam-rollered or best ignored.And then when a problem happens we take the blame!!And are also forced to work nights trying to solve the problem.
These things will keep happening until someone shakes up Boards and CEOs and gives us more importance than we get right now.And Oh yes,it would also help if IT guys stopped being stuck behind their PCs and went out and met more people in the general organization.
I don't disagree that there are many issues in implementation of RFID systems that deal primarily with user privacy and discretion. My point surrounded the importance of IT in the future world and how IT will be integrated in more aspects of our every day life.
Thanks for pointing to this document which I found really interesting.
Taking a line from "Ferris Bueller's Day Off", "I weep for the future". I will not argue that technology is going to become pretty much a part of everything that we do in the future. Where I weep is that I like being a "3L33T", knowing more about IT than most.
Since we are not going to be able to run everything, the HVAC guy is going to learn about IT, The Maytag guy is going to learn about IT, the Car guy already does. Admit it, we all like being a little smarter than most when it comes to IT, we love gadgets, we love what they can do, we love talking about what they will be able to do. What we should not love to talk about is how pretty soon, a lot of jobs are going to understand TCP/IP and the OSI Layer and how it affects their piece of equipment. If we are not careful, there will be a whole new breed of tech geeks with just enough knowledge to really screw things up and make our jobs even tougher than they already are.
So, our future will be more brighter with the "internet of things"? and "
These will be the days that you will not have to worry ever again"? Please read this article (Threats to Privacy and Civil Liberties) about the danger of adopting RFID and you will understand why people are not ready to adopt it on a wide scale.
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