stty consulting › our future
Don't let the fear of change hold you back
There have been many false dawns for the IT industry claiming recovery that the world is beginning to regard the practice as "upturn-by-survey" rather than a sign of real progress.
buzzwords reinforce the image of technology as scary and complex.
It's great to see a return of optimism - the essential basic ingredient for recovery that can be sustained. But so far there's been less evidence of a realization that IT departments have to face up to greater change if it is to build on the feeling of hope and become more involved with the business as a whole.
As an industry that has been the cause of much social, political and economic change in the last 30 years, it seems a little rude to suggest that fear of change may be holding us back today. Some feel that it is a major factor preventing IT teams from exploiting the enormous opportunities ahead.
Much of the business world focuses on share prices and profit-to-earnings ratios as the barometers of improvements in their sector. But the true measure of the industry will take off again is signs of overcoming the resistance to change as technology becomes increasingly ubiquitous and part of every day life.
The key to growth is not finding new products to create fresh demand, but to overcome the deep rooted fears of using existing and proven technologies. Break through technologies like biometrics and RFID promise great benefits, but are obscured by the understandable fears of privacy and security.
Equally, many in the IT industry are concerned over the modern trend of moving jobs offshore is hindering progress of becoming part of a globalized industry that will create a more high-level, better paid jobs.
More than ever, the IT community needs to talking terms of people, not last century's press releases and buzzwords that reinforce the image of technology as scary and complex. IT leaders need to embrace change and demonstrate the inclusiveness of technology too easy the fear of colleagues and customers. So taking a controlling role in realizing the benefits and IT and the growth will follow as a result.