|
If
the strategic significance of IT starts diminishing in mainstream
(non-IT) companies, what should be the focus of IT professionals,
especially of those working for such organisations? MOHAN BABU
analyses the various options
In
the previous column, we looked at the commoditisation of information
technology. We also looked at how the current trends towards uniformity
of systems are making business leaders at Fortune 500 companies
think that IT system offerings from different vendors are not going
to be of strategic significance as we move forward towards the next
era of computing, what some say will be the Web services era. The
argument made by management gurus like Nicholas Carr (Harvard Business
Review: “IT Doesn’t Matter” ), holds a lot of water.
However, what does this mean to legions of IT professionals, most
of us working for software and services companies and in IT shops
and data centres in traditional companies? Most of the arguments
made by such articles have a significant business slant and try
to examine IT from a business strategic standpoint. The article
has put IT managers and strategists on the defensive. They are scrambling
to justify the “importance” of IT systems to business,
missing the point about the article.
The
fact remains that IT systems are an integral part of any business.
As per one estimate, Fortune 500 spend nearly 50 percent of their
capital budgetary allotments on IT infrastructure (development,
deployment and maintenance). IT spending will continue to remain
in the trillions of dollars mark for years to come, a fact no one
(not even Professor Carr) disputes. However, what has got IT leaders
scampering is the view of IT in businesses. If IT is not of strategic
importance, they fear that managements will not allocate the same
high-level patronage to IT projects and initiatives. Another aspect
that techies wonder about is the opportunities for career growth
and advancement, especially in traditional companies.
Careers
in IT can take multiple tracks: One track is the more traditional
one—from developer to architect or project management, etc.
Most software and services companies provide a “dual track”
system to IT people. For those who wish to remain purely technical,
such companies provide the technical architect/evangelist path and
to others, the companies provide a business track where IT professionals
move into management, sales and other functional roles. The other
track is the one to be found at non-IT companies where IT professionals
sometimes switch gears and move into more mainstream business roles—from
developers to business analysts and into the management track.
If
the strategic significance of IT starts diminishing in mainstream
(non-IT) companies, what should be the focus of IT professionals
in these organisations. A recent column in Computer-world articulates
this quandary as follows: “Retailers understand the value of
processes, skills and execution. They have to—they must choose
the products they sell from exactly the same pool as their competitors.
So Nordstrom differentiates itself from Wal-Mart through its business
processes, its employees’ skills and how those employees execute
on those processes. And Wal-Mart differentiates itself with its
own processes, skills and execution.
When
IT is used most effectively, when it’s really focused on the
business it serves, it reinforces and amplifies that differentiation.
It maximises the advantages a company gets from its business model.
It improves processes, leverages skills and streamlines execution
in ways that help a business deliver on its unique strengths. It
helps Wal-Mart be Wal-Mart and Nordstrom be Nordstrom. That’s
how you get competitive advantage. If that sounds a little fuzzy,
it’s because every company is unique. That’s why you’ve
got to know your company inside and out if you want to deliver IT
that truly serves the business. The kind of IT that doesn’t
come out of a shrink-wrapped box. The kind your competitors can’t
match by writing a purchase order.”
What
this means is that IT professionals at Wal-Mart or Nordstrom should
focus on the business advantages that IT systems can provide their
companies, not just on software alone since the products and systems
too come from the same pool that their peers at other competitors
would be looking at.
Another
way of looking at this is that instead of trying to build a “better
mousetrap”, techies should be focusing their energies on innovative
location and usage of such mousetraps. Such innovativeness would
come from deeper domain knowledge and an understanding of business
processes.
IT
professionals have long known the significance of domain competence;
however it is only now they are beginning to tie it with their career
planning, especially if they happen to work for non-IT companies.
|
