Section 10.5. The Vision and Challenge of IT


10.5. The Vision and Challenge of IT

The process for successful use of IT in business, or for any purpose, is one of understanding the business's needs, understanding the technology's capabilities, and then crafting a process that meets the needs with help from the technology.

Most IT disasters stem from misunderstanding the business's needs and the technology's capabilities. Open source will not change this dynamic. For many companies it will simply provide a new form of technology to misunderstand. It won't help companies understand their needs.

The question of whether to use open source really calls into focus how an IT department sees itself. Confident, highly skilled IT departments never ask whether they should use open source. The staff simply looks for the best tools and uses them, regardless of the source, and figures out how to make it work for the company. The managers of these departments know what they are getting into and make sure engineering practices are strong to protect the department from cowboy tendencies.

But most IT departments are not Google, Amazon.com, Yahoo!, or Ticketmaster. You have to ask yourself: should you seek to emulate those companies, if not entirely, then in a small area where it would make a difference? Can you find just one open source application that would save the company money, provide some significant value, and help build the department's skills? If this process starts and is properly managed, it will transform and empower an IT department. If you want to be empowered, using open source can start you on the way.

Reading a book is an excellent way to prepare to learn. However, experience is the real teacher. Don't believe us. Pick up some open source, try to use it, and notice how it changes you and your company. You will not be disappointed.

Open source is a vast world to explore, and many treasures await those who can develop the right skills and adapt their organizations to sustain them.



Open Source for the Enterprise
Open Source for the Enterprise
ISBN: 596101198
EAN: N/A
Year: 2003
Pages: 134

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