The Consumerization of Corporate IT

Great article on The Consumerization of Corporate IT on strategy+business. The world of Enterprise and Solution Architecture is changing as we speak.

"The only way that organizations can get out of this vicious circle — of more bespoke IT driving higher costs with little productivity return and employees driving the technology agenda under the radar of IT departments — is to forge a completely new way of looking at how technology is delivered within organizations. Such a change would mean elevating the chief information officer to the role of company technology strategist and leveraging the innovation, pace, and scale of the consumer market. Many blueprints for turning flaccid IT departments into models of efficiency have been created — and then shelved. They failed primarily because they were driven from the top with little consideration for the preferences of employees using the machines. Consumerization of technology offers another chance to finally wrestle down a problem that began, it could be said, decades ago in a Silicon Valley garage."

Posted using ShareThis

James Gardner writes a letter to the Architects

"Dear Architect,

...we don't think we should have to pay for a "business process management" platform or implement "service orientation" so that future propositions that might come along have lower costs. If you want to build out "cool" architecture, you must find your own way to fund the bits and pieces that you need, rather than loading us up with costs."

The full letter can be found on James' blog.

Such is the dilemma of the way computer systems are designed and built in the corporate environment. An effective architect in a corporate environment needs to be forward thinking, yet practical and aware of cost and time pressures that their "customer" faces.

In my experience, effective architecture involves laying out a roadmap for technology choices, integration platforms, services orientation, etc, etc, and then spending a significant amount of time lobbying business users, other IT stakeholders, project and program boards, and C-level management for endorsement of that architectural roadmap.

It's a game of two steps forward, one step backwards, two steps forward. Some business systems projects will still need to go tactical, but as long as they go tactical with the support and understanding of the architects, then plans can be put in place to bring those systems back onto the architectural roadmap when the funding and/or time allows.