11.17.11
Prepare for the End of IT
[Cartoon]
IT has stood firmly as professionals delivering automated business solutions. These professionals have taken on the burden of understanding both the business of their organization and the complexity of technology. They are dedicated and hardworking. They are also on their way out.
These professionals have worn out their welcome. Often they believe their business knowledge exceeds that of the business management. They have a sense that they are in charge of the organization and only the most senior of management can give them orders. The knowledge they hold is what has given them their authority and this is changing.
Cloud computing opened the opportunity for datacenters to move out of an organization and out of the control of IT. Then Software-as-a-Service, operating in the cloud, offers applications without the involvement of IT.
What is left for IT is enterprise integration of all applications and infrastructure. This is clearly a task for Enterprise Architects. Because of this, the role of Enterprise Architect has been seized upon by IT as a lifeline. Even though sound business practices should keep EA out of IT, CIOs are well aware of the need to hold EA close to IT. With infrastructure and applications drifting into the cloud, integration is all that is left for IT.
Integration is what sets IT apart from the past. Before IT there was DP (Data Processing). In those days, the data was not considered information because it did not have the value provided by relational data bases. Processing was limited to mostly batch and was done in the back-office. Technology brought the processing to the front office using networks, and all applications were integrated using database and message systems. So was born the organization of Information Technology.
The next change that will occur that will eliminate the need for IT to apply their integration knowledge is ontology. With ontology, the principles of business information and processes can be captured in machine-readable form. These principles include accounting, finance, marketing, etc. These principles can then be layered with ontologies defining business functions such as supply chain, retail, warehousing, etc.
These ontologies capture the knowledge of integration by defining “just plugin” standards at the business enterprise software level. As this occurs, a shift from Information Technology takes place towards Knowledge Services. These services know about each other. They can integrate without the help of professionals. They can be used without the guidance of an IT organization.
Preparation for this change should begin with the following steps:
- Use SaaS applications where appropriate.
- Separate the EA group from IT.
- Become aware of the growth and use of the semantic web.
- Look for reuse of business ontologies.
There is no doubt that IT has become so large, so costly, and so slow to respond that another alternative must rise up. That alternative is capturing the knowledge that IT has held for so long within their fraternity. Now that knowledge is beginning to be shared, IT will eventually be replaced by Knowledge Services just as Information Technology replaced Data Processing.
The Enterprise Architects can see what is coming and are already preparing. They know that this will be their time. Corporations will be able to completely focus on their business, and automation will be viewed as an agile enabler. Automation will finally become the self-service contributor that the Corporate Office has always wanted it to be. –Enterprise Architects Masters of the Unseen City
Closing the Business / IT gap.
