Where is IT headed? What role will IT - the technology and the IT organization - play in tomorrow's business organizations? What will the software industry look like? How effectively will software enable business?
These questions are relevant today for a couple of reasons. First, a lot is changing and has changed in business. Starting with product life-cycles, increased competition, pricing pressures coupled with a near-zero tolerance for large IT budgets and projects, globally dispersed and complex supply chains, customer acquisition and product fulfillment among many changes. Second, among all these changes which will only intensify and speed up, traditional software vendors (Oracle, SAP, Microsoft) are responding or trying to catch up, new solutions from a new batch of companies (Marketo, Gooogle, Groupon) are emerging and often companies are having to improvise with custom solutions or simply work with primitive tools (Excel, email, phone). This is a trend that will continue. Business and market changes will continue and speed up while IT vendors play catch-up.
Some aspects of business and IT structures of the future are already upon us.
These questions are relevant today for a couple of reasons. First, a lot is changing and has changed in business. Starting with product life-cycles, increased competition, pricing pressures coupled with a near-zero tolerance for large IT budgets and projects, globally dispersed and complex supply chains, customer acquisition and product fulfillment among many changes. Second, among all these changes which will only intensify and speed up, traditional software vendors (Oracle, SAP, Microsoft) are responding or trying to catch up, new solutions from a new batch of companies (Marketo, Gooogle, Groupon) are emerging and often companies are having to improvise with custom solutions or simply work with primitive tools (Excel, email, phone). This is a trend that will continue. Business and market changes will continue and speed up while IT vendors play catch-up.
Some aspects of business and IT structures of the future are already upon us.
- Budget pressures on internal IT costs leading to outsourced IT, cloud computing, on-demand solutions, specialized maintenance/support
- Reduced use of low-level IT contractors, greater use of business / technology consultants
- Growing list of software vendors, reduced customization costs, faster deployments, subscription pricing models, greater use of video (documentation, communication), social networking, mobile (information access), remote conferencing and remote consultants and development resources.
- Role of IT and the CIO will change, The focus will be more on process and information and far less on technology.
How does one cope with and more importantly, help business ride out these changes effectively? The key for the CIO will be to continue focusing on the fundamentals of business. Business needs (1) Information - accurately, timely, actionable and (2) Automation - all work that can be automated MUST be automated at will (when necessary). Incidentally, automation implies less manual work. Sitting in front of a computer screen punching numbers is not automation. IT must enable business and as long as the business has all the information needed and has truly automated every task that can be automated, we can rest assured that IT is fulfilling its purpose in the organization.
What IT must do is about as important as how IT enables this. IT must operate in lock-step with business - be responsive to business needs, must anticipate business needs, be cost-effective and non-obtrusive. IT must simply do its job quietly. Businesses must not be aware of IT.
There is no question about IT going away. It must, like all mission critical infrastructure, simply merge with the background.
What IT must do is about as important as how IT enables this. IT must operate in lock-step with business - be responsive to business needs, must anticipate business needs, be cost-effective and non-obtrusive. IT must simply do its job quietly. Businesses must not be aware of IT.
There is no question about IT going away. It must, like all mission critical infrastructure, simply merge with the background.
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