Upstairs, downstairs: IT goes into service It seems as though everything these days is being provided as a service. Software, security, storage, platforms and infrastructures are all being rented by the seat, MIP or gigabyte. And now it's desktops. Virtualisation transforms the desktop from an item of personal jewellery into a service. Your users’ PCs cease being …
If a business owner can just finding cheaper hosting elsewhere, they will. The resulting feral IT is wholly uncoordinated with other systems.
The result: fragmented services that don't integrate or interoperate.
So don't take on pay-as-you-go scheme. You can still pinpoint inefficient users through cost reporting.
Some (note, not all!) business people think you can just buy these 'IT services' and they will all just work perfectly - no issues, mega resources available, will scale forever, perfect resilience, in built DR, no skilled engineering staff required to build/operate - and all for the cost of a few peanuts etc etc...well one word: idiots.
I like to think of the provision of 'IT Services' as a feat of engineering - i.e a group of engineering geniuses who can build something special, which happens to be within a 'given budget'...yeah sure, you can buy a VCE vblock, or an Oracle Exadata/Exalogic blah de blah, but there isn't much fun there now is there (well ok there is a bit)?...anyhow, my point is when will companies and businesses re-instate their super techies back where they should be? Gods walking amongst mere mortals...
It's the duty of everyone in IT - from tech support to software development, to disabuse this notion we are a service industry. Start treating people who buy and use technology like the second-class lowlives they are. Forget A+, Cisco or MCP certification, genuine IT certification teaches you how to properly insult a customer and have them thank you for it.
The Register 
Biting the hand that feeds IT
Copyright. All rights reserved © 1998–2024
