No IT Clowns Here Part II - Stephen King's "IT"

Companies to need Savvy up their IT

I wrote an article back in December 07, titled "This Isn't Stephen King's "IT"" and as I was reading the Wall Street and Technology web site today, I stumbled across this article about IT. Once again, it addresses the fact that people are so opposed to something they do not understand and refuse to embrace technology. To make matters worse, this author provides no real backing of his assumptions in regards to IT, which, in the end, makes him one of the main reasons IT gets such a bad rap.

Right off the bat, the tone is set incorrectly in this article about how IT should be viewed.

"In good times, the challenge is how to spend the money wisely; and in bad times, the challenge also is how to spend the money wisely."

IT cannot be viewed as simply managing costs associated with developing a business' infrastructure. I'll be one of the first to tell you that IT projects can and are expensive, but if the big picture vision is there and well thought out, success awaits you. Businesses that irresponsibly throw money around will suffer the fate of having a shoddy IT department,

but companies that utilize IT to attack and resolve business inefficiencies have more than just "15 minutes of IT fame."

A sand trap many businesses fall into are getting caught up with "buzz words" and not really seeing how the applications can benefit their business. They buy the product, not the solution. We can thank the salespeople that strive for the quick sale and not the long-term success.

The Author mentions that IT Departments "fail to build a sustainable practical environment" (Habbal, Mayiz 6/11/08). I challenge that remark and to ask how often a business agrees to an IT Project and then quickly disregards it before the solution is implemented!! As the list of insults are thrown at IT, words such as "appalling", "staggering", and my favorite, "exceptionally frightening" are mixed together, it is no wonder people think IT is from Stephen King's novel.

Mayiz Habbal has strong words towards IT, yet no evidence backing up his claims. I understand IT undertakings have failed, but also a lot of flourished. Apple fans love IT. iPhone software is the result of IT investments.

IT helps companies attack inefficiencies. Businesses that have multiple departments and have issues of the "silo effect", by bringing in an ERP solution and allow all those businesses to communicate seamlessly does wonders for breaking down barriers. Walmart owes all of it's inventory success to Information Technology. Its inventory systems allow both the supplier and Walmart to "talk" between intranets with ease.

Imagine if Walmart had to call each one of its suppliers for every store?! YIKES!

Overall, I am not saying IT is perfect. It is not and that is because businesses can be very loose when it comes to investing properly. Then, when a project fails, they blame the IT department when, in the first place, the other departments in the business did not fully harness the solution being presented.

There is no cookie-cutter answer for a business when it comes to IT. Every solution is customized to the business. Forcing a product on a business never leads to success. The product has to provide that solution that answers the issue posing a problem to the business. Once the corporate world realizes this, IT will be basking in the high life.....

~the GURU

A little video of Stephen King's "IT". Your IT guy is not the Clown.