01.13.11
A Bird in the Hand
[Cartoon]
First, there was a Palm operating system running on a pocket-sized device that could sync data with your PC. Then the Blackberry showed us that it could be done even better with more features. More recently, the iPhone, followed by multiple Android devices, have taken even greater steps. There is no question that this is a bird-in-the-hand well worth any others in-the-bush.
Is an organization’s central IT one of those in the bush? Has this expansion of handheld devices encroached on sacred IT grounds? Does everyone now have the right to question how things are being done? Does everyone have the right to see what is being done by delivering information to their handheld device? Does everyone expect to socialize and share information within their corporate community? Is there a demand that things change?
The answer to all of these questions is “yes.” It does not take a genius to figure out what is going on. When anything is around long enough, it is either accepted as part of the human existence or it is rejected. So far, computer technology has not been rejected. It has been absorbed into our very existence. We simply expect to have great power in our hands and we expect its operating speed to equal our daily pace.
There is no wonder that the central IT organizations have lost the majesty they once held. Their turf is now in everyone’s dialog. No one is afraid of the internet. No one is afraid of databases. Everyone can select, evaluate, install, and operate applications.
This knowledge opens the opportunity for everyone to question the status quote. They can demand what information they want to see. They can dialog with others in their profession and conclude the requirements for new services. In many cases, they can implement the new services themselves.
Those things that are in the bush can simply stay in the bush. We want our access and functionality in our hand. So far we have not been disappointed.
The Enterprise Architects can see what is coming and are already preparing. They know that this will be their time. Corporations will be able to completely focus on their business, and automation will be viewed as an agile enabler. Automation will finally become the self-service contributor that the Corporate Office has always wanted it to be. –Enterprise Architects Masters of the Unseen City
Closing the Business / IT gap.
