New World Order

Downtime kills a business; and for the first time businesses are beginning to realize that technology is not simply a tool, but a strategic line of business to be invested in. The simplistic view that technology is simply an piece of software in that boxy-thigy under one’s desk is shifting due to the pain realized from technology failures due to increasing complexity.

As a result, businesses are moving away from looking at IT as a means to an end and more as a business in and of itself. The key to doing this involves developing and supporting the proper implementation and management of IT no differently than a sales force or any other business line.

So what you now have is an environment where the business is beginning to understand the impact technology has on its bottom line and that alt+ctrl+del is no longer the fix for the majority of computer problems. You also have IT management breathing a sigh of relief that they now have the attention of the business at unprecedented levels of organizations.

The challenge for IT is to now change direction from focusing on “time to market,” to a demand for stability and strategic growth in a reasonable amount of time. In most industries this amounts to a shift from a “whatever it takes” mentality to one that is very much structured and process driven. The latter also introduces a new era of two way communication between IT and the business.

In a very real sense, the skills needed to succeed in technology are also changing. Of course the demand for core technology specialists is still required, at the same time however, a hybrid specialist is needed to fill a new gap. An individual who is very much aligned with the business vision to assist technology in realizing their contribution to the overall goal. At the same time, also introducing new technologies to the business with a focus on enabling new opportunities and avenues for the business to exploit.

It would appear that the only individuals who are living in this space between the business and technology are the ones who already have the skill set needed to fill a more recognized role in the organization. These are the IT Support professionals. This new world order is expanding their previously over looked value to the organization in bold, new, career enhancing ways.

As an individual whose second career has evolved from swapping Ultra 5s and 21″ CRT monitors on a trading floor, managing an IT service desk, managing IT vendor relationships/contracts, back to the IT Support Account Manager for the previously mentioned trading floor and now to a role that is part of this new world order in IT Service Management, I can only see further growth in my career upwards as IT becomes a true business partner.

by Rik Jones