In 1996, I attended a presentation from Sun Microsystems about the future of computing technology. It was a memorable presentation to me as they explained the notion of the network, more specifically the Internet, becoming ubiquitous and as reliable as the dial-tone of a land-line phone. This would lead, the presenter postulated, to a world where computer services were delivered as a service rather than the notion of having to own, build and support our own traditional client server environments. Administration of computer services would be greatly simplified. The presenter showed how Sun, in the mid-1990′s remember, was using network services and thin clients to provide computer services that were robust, easy to administer and cost effective. I remember, at the time, thinking this is the way computer systems should be.
Sun Set
Sad to say, the thinking that was going on at Sun was way ahead of its time and that thinking did not translate into share value. The company was acquired by Oracle in 2010 and rolled into a new Oracle company. The irony, of course, is that almost everything that was talked about in that presentation has now become the next evolution of information technology. Cloud based computing, software-as-a-services (SaaS) and the myriad of other network-based solutions speak to the vision of the many talented people at Sun.
Fast-forward to today and it is quite conceivable that an organization no longer needs an IT department, at least in the traditional sense. It is possible to out-source every aspect of information technology required to run a business, or a government for that matter, and to do it cost effectively and reliably. This is of considerable concern to most IT departments and perhaps the single reason why adoption of Sun’s vision has been slow to catch on. The one group that could have leveraged the approach Sun was touting the most was the one that was at most risk of vanishing.
The Common Cloud
The popularization of cloud computing has increased mainly by Google but is now set to become part of the popular culture lexicon through Apple’s iCloud. Once the notion of cloud computing becomes ingrained in popular culture then the revolution is complete. It is now only a matter of time before the traditional IT shop will be relegated to the scrap-heap and a new way of managing technology will emerge.
Do we need an IT department?
The business case for not having a dedicated IT department is compelling. The economies of scale of providing cloud services is akin to the low cost of shipping goods by container ship. The per kilogram cost is so low as to be almost negligible on the cost of a finished good. It’s a big reason why we can buy apples in the grocery store from New Zealand cheaper than from local producers. I recently designed a cloud-based IT solution for a small retail store that includes point-of-sale, stock control, customer tracking, and a robust web-store for less than $150/month. That’s a critical business system that is supported 24×7, backed up, robust and resilient for as much as some people pay for their smart phone!
Future of the IT department
What will this mean for the future of your average IT department? It will get harder and harder to justify the expensive of having a home-grown IT infrastructure. Jobs will be at stake so don’t expect those within company or government IT departments to go quietly. There will be considerable arguments made about the nature of security and control over business systems, the potential lack of customer service, and lots of what-if disaster scenarios. The fact is that once people get used to something like Apple iCloud they will stop even thinking of it as anything other than part of the computer; the network will truly be the computer.
So what is to come of the IT department in your average organization that has the luxury of having one? They will evolve as things often do. There will be greater emphasis on business analysis and training to ensure that people are using the solutions provided efficiently. There will still be a need for technology coordinators; those that keep up with what’s going on and hold service providers accountable for performance. IT will become much less about technology and more about people. Arguably, that’s what it should have been in the first place – something Steve Jobs, Scott McNeally and others knew all the long.
