Daring ideas are like chessmen moved forward. They may be beaten, but they may start a winning game. – Johann von Goethe
I once sat in a one-to-one meeting with a successful entrepreneur who is in his seventies and he described when an organization that he has built into a profitable enterprise decided to hire its first technology employee. When they made the decision to hire him, he thought why would we need a technology person? What purpose will they have? Granted this is still when they still used pencil and paper along with typewriters for day-to-day administrative work.
Years of Change
It was interesting to me as he described the transition that happened within the company and structure of how business was done as the technology effort began to grow and take shape. A natural evolution towards increasing productivity, and ease of sharing information began to produce the need for more technology personnel and infrastructure. Today this organization is a leader in its industry with a strong core technology infrastructure. To quote him, “We just couldn’t do business today without technology.”
Looking Forward
It is no secret, especially to Gordon E. Moore, thinker behind Moore’s law, that innovation with technology happens rapidly and is ever changing. Over the years we have gone from tubes to the cloud, with new standards and concepts being developed daily.
Just as business couldn’t thrive without basic bookkeeping, marketing, and great people, technology has a big part in a business’ success. Whether it is increasing the productivity of employees, to allowing better communication amongst remote working peers, or simply making mundane tasks more interesting, I have a profound interest in observing and impacting business by utilizing and magnifying technology’s strengths.
There are hurdles. The complexities of new software or systems, equipment and software costs, and training where needed. Technology is often seen as a necessary expenditure, but not always the favorite cost center of an organization. This is beginning to change in the industry however as more IT departments and service providers are beginning to acknowledge and accept the customer and consumerism of IT. Things should just work and do what the person wants them to do.
As a self-proclaimed power user, I agree whole-heartedly with the self-proclaimed technology illiterate, that technology when done right just works. It doesn’t overcomplicate all the unneeded bells and whistles, it focuses on the important task at hand and allows you to get your work done without confusion.
I do my best, and my part, to help within the IT and technology industry to promote usability, and stable core infrastructures, and innovation to provide increased possibilities of business growth and success.