General IT ManagementDiscussion of challenges facing IT management including articles published throughout the Earthweb IT Management network at Datamation, eSecurityPlanet and CIO Update.
In his new book, tech pundit Nicholas Carr theorizes that companies will no longer need their own IT departments. Instead, they'll tap into the processing power of remote mega-computing facilities, much as they now tap into electricity from centralized utility plants.
Maybe some, but I think lots of businesses require too much specialized technology for that. Sure, that will fill the bill for some companies, but others, such as ours, require constant specialization and modification
Nicholas Carr is a dunce. His idea that IT departments will eventually recede is a gross misconception. While certainly there are capabilities for companies to house certain applications outside of their walls (such examples as Salesforce.com with their web based CRM solution is one) there are always going to need to be in house people for certain portions of IT. There is always going to need to be someone to manage the servers that connect all the client computers together. Even if there are fewer servers, because of virtualization, there is still going to need to be someone to manage them. There is always going to need to be helpdesk. Even with ever more technology sophisticated workforce there are still general and specialized technology needs of every company that costs the company too much to outsource if only for the down time that it causes from the outsource having to arrive at the company. Finally security is never going to go away. Even with the advent of better encryption and better security devices there are always going to be those who wish to unwarranted access and disrupt networks and those with the skills to do it. No system and no software is without faults, and there is an entire community and market who looks for those faults so that they can exploit them for their own game. There is always going to need to be an inhouse person for should such an intruder gain access to a companies network or sensitive information. Granted many of these skills can exist within a single individual allowing for a smaller IT department, the fact is that there will always be a need for them.
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