From it to ET: the wave of cloud computing, commercialization and IT transformation

It seems to us that it is dying. This is not a new idea. This view was raised in 2003 and sparked heated discussions at the time. Carr (Nicholas Carr) published an article on the Harvard Business Review website titled "It is no longer important".

Carl's view is that IT has become a daily commodity like water and electricity. There is no need for us to look at IT as a separate concept. For example, when you listen to a company summarizing successful experiences, when do you hear them attributing success to "better power supply"?

Carl believes that it management is becoming a simple risk management discipline and cost optimization tools. IT managers should no longer worry about how to deliver advanced solutions that make them more efficient--all they have to do is choose a more sophisticated service provider and stick to minimizing costs and operational risk. In other words, the role of it is at the same level as the cleaning service-just need to do the necessary maintenance work, do not need to innovate.

Carl's predictions were predictable, but his article sparked a heated debate. On the other hand, the growth of outsourcing, hosting and cloud services seems to suggest that Karl's view is correct. More than 90% of IT companies are currently using some form of management, hosting, or cloud services.

But Carl also has mistakes. Yes, the term it--has been known to us for about 25 years-indeed it has begun to change. But it seems too early to see IT as a commodity, and technology is becoming more important than ever. Enterprises, schools and even government agencies are in urgent need of skilled managers, such a strong ability to innovate, efficient implementation of the Organization's competitiveness to provide a solid guarantee. In other words, it is being replaced by ET (Enterprise Technology): Technology no longer serves only between office and office staff, but extends to every corner of the enterprise.

In short, et is the integration of embedded, networked and intelligent technologies. These include wireless/mobile technology (from smartphones to wireless sensor networks), display technology and contour technology (organic light-emitting diodes, equipment miniaturization, and enhanced battery technology), next-generation computing (such as quantum computing), and large data. The emergence of large data technology has greatly improved the ability of technicians to excavate data and analyze data, so that enterprises can quickly and effectively through the summary and analysis of real-time data, screening out the key information to guide the smooth development of business.

by MIS (Information Management Service) to it and ET

From a historical point of view: The first time the computer into the field of enterprise applications in the 50 's to the 60 's, the back-end office has undergone a revolution. By automating repetitive processing, computer hosts (and the software ecosystems that grow up along with them) have created the possibility of data adjustment and processing, a new and emerging way of working that has shown us a bright world. In all kinds of business, the most benefit is the financial and Employee Payroll department, which changes are absolutely revolutionary. Information Management Services (MIS) has become a specialized discipline that focuses on dealing with a number of things: ensuring system reliability, scalability, and stability.

We seem to have forgotten the disruptive changes brought about by MIS. Companies that pioneered the "computer" process have overwhelmed competitors in the depth and breadth of information processing. At the same time, the Logistics Office team in the scale of the substantial reduction, the entire business process has been streamlined.

Although MIS is a change, but the impact is very limited. "Computers"--specifically mainframe and mainframe based applications--can only solve a specific aspect of the problem, especially in objects that are easy to batch. However, they are not good at sharing information or providing real-time responses.

The next step is a copy of the "Innovator's Dilemma" script (a forward-looking book written by senior advisor Clayton Christensen in 1997): MIS managers are increasingly comfortable managing their systems. But they ignored the ensuing technological reforms. In particular, minicomputer and even PCs have begun to enter the market, and companies are still dying to hold mainframes.

Later--As with all disruptive technologies--although these small new products were slow and not stable at the beginning of their birth, they grew quite alarmingly and eventually took the place of the original "genuine" computing equipment. Because users desperately need a program that does not have to be taken over by a professional and cost less, the PC finally ushered in its own spring and became the best choice for the enterprise to provide computing services. Then is everyone familiar anecdotes: The internet era, the initial LAN era and later the Internet era has become our work of all.

The combination of desktop computing and networking has created an explosive effect: in the 80 and 90, the revolution revolutionized the day-to-day work of office workers and the way they worked--users were no longer limited to logistical staff such as finance and pay payments (they took the revolutionary fruits one step ahead), Rather, it covers what is now known as the "Knowledge worker" class (interestingly, the term was first proposed by the management guru Peter Drucker in 1959).

This is worth discussing in detail. In the 50, 60 and 70, the typical "knowledge worker" is that they handle business in the office, a phone on the desk, a file cabinet at hand for storing data, and a secretary to deal with the needs of communication (of course this is only for those who have a certain status). This time is a special mis. In other words, while companies are "computerized", the business tools of knowledge workers are often made up of people and physical elements.

"Information Technology" has changed everything. By the end of the century, the typical knowledge worker no longer needed a filing cabinet or a secretary. He owns a desktop computer (or maybe a laptop). Telephones and desktops have also become a quick option: With the advent of Internet connectivity and VoIP technology, telephones and computers have become the same device. Knowledgeable employees can work anywhere, anytime.

The situation has become this: overall, the people who manage it are no longer the same type of people who manage MIS. As mentioned above, a new type of technical position begins to emerge when the mis people are still focused on improving and optimizing their logistics management systems. They are team computing experts, LAN administrators, and later routing and Internet experts.

These people are often hired directly by the business unit rather than by MIS managers. They are directly managed by the business unit. Why? Because the capabilities of these new technologies vastly exceed the computational capabilities of the logistics sector: rapid and efficient distribution of information (such as e-mail) among multiple employees, and real-time answers to computational questions (such as Excel).

In other words, if the central role of MIS is to optimize the business functions of the Logistics Department, it can make everyone a knowledge-based employee. At the same time, business units want to be able to control when and how they use these new technologies. More specifically, they do not want to give these technologies to people in the MIS department to handle these issues, because the MIS team usually takes longer.

So actually the business unit starts to run its own technical team, the IT group. Information technology has been thriving from the 90 to 2000, and businesses are no longer overly worried about having two separate technical teams: the Logistics MIS team and the front it team. The aim was to get the new technology deployed at the fastest speed, without considering how best to manage it.

But as the bubble burst in 2001, everything changed, and CIOs began to consolidate many operations under strong pressure. When the dust settles and the fight ends, it wins again: MIS and it are merged into unified IT departments (in some cases, if the company has enough strength to support it, they will still set up multiple IT departments). However, MIS does not operate it, and it can operate mis.

The same thing is happening now. With the rise of consumer technology, business units (and individual employees) began to introduce technology beyond the purview of traditional IT departments. The increasing miniaturization of equipment, the increasing display capabilities, and the wide range of wireless and mobile communications technologies are beginning to permeate people and programs that have not yet been affected by it.

As it pushes "computerization" to all knowledgeable employees, ET has begun to push computing and the web to about 60% of its employees, all of whom are not knowledgeable employees, as important as the artificial systems (such as power Networks and hospital equipment), because they represent the company's core business.

Just as it eventually swallowed mis, et eventually swallowed it.

Another angle to look at all this is its entire trajectory from the 50 's to the present, which represents the process from the advent of technology to maturity. In the next decade, the technological revolution will occur not only in the user community but throughout the enterprise.

This is what Karl did not mention in his 2003 analysis: This is the appearance of ET.

(Responsible editor: The good of the Legacy)