IT as roadblock
Information (knowledge?) is the currency of business today, so making it available and making available the tools needed to manipulate that information is a critical task. I came across this interesting discussion by Jeffrey Phillips and thought I'd pass it along. How IT became pre-eminent
It seems interesting to me that the most influential and significant information technology magazine has taken so long to realize what many of us in the "user" community and "vendor" community have known for quite a while. IT has become a significant roadblock in many organizations, actually dictating what applications, tools and approaches can be followed.
The tone is somewhat negative and somewhat realistic. IT organizations are asked to do a lot: provide technology, ensure security, interpret and implement federal rules (Sarbanes-Oxley and 21 CFR Part 11, for example), repair wonky computers, etc. No wonder most "users" look askance at IT when they say it will take six months to implement what seems to be a simple software change.
2 Comment(s)
said:
Good topic! I can empathize with Jeffrey Phillips and his recent experience. My day job is with a big (160k employee) engineering company and I’ve often seen the same thing happening. I think that as long as IT departments are seen as cost centers, or see themselves as a cost center, then they are, indeed, a roadblock to progress. Even if an IT organization promotes “IT Governance†they often end up looking more at the costs of systems rather than the benefits. Better practice (as opposed to the conventional wisdom "best practice") IT governance is to make IT departments an integral part of supporting the mission of the organization.
I commented (http://christinaslibraryrant.blogspot.com/2006/07/no-wonder-it-doesnt-want-to-support.html) on another article from the same issue, I think, on the Culture of 'No'. I think the culture of transformation and change is not being led by IT departments but they should be able to spend a portion of their time in the sandbox and talking to the users.