In the 1980’s, I was a typical PITA user, developing applications behind the backs of the IT department, even bringing my own PC and software into work. Eventually the IT department ‘took me under their wing’ and I was the one fighting off guerrilla developments from the user community, but by providing them with better, faster and more flexible technology, we won the day.
Now I find myself on the other side of the fence again.
I don’t develop anymore, but I’m watching the world of Cloud encourage self-service in the technical user community and leave IT departments behind. It’s a theme I have returned to before – the “democratisation of compute power” – served up brilliantly through the AWS IaaS model. We’ll see more examples of this at the AWS Enterprise Summit mid-September that Smart421 is sponsoring. ( hashtag#AWSsummit )
However, it’s not just the Cloud that is challenging IT departments.
Mobile too seems to be spawning a new generation of Garagists*. Either bright individuals buried in large companies or small one or two man bands creating mobile applications – building on core components (hosting/logon/mapping/location) provided by Apple, Google etc. by adding layers of creativity.
So what’s the problem – the real point here ?
The issue is security. When I was hacking out applications and getting sneaky access to CRM databases and pricing algorithms, everything was safe inside the corporate firewall. Nowadays it is mobile and cloud based.
Both of these technologies I wholeheartedly support, but like everything it has to be done in the right way. So if it was up to me again, I’d develop a Cloud strategy and Mobile architectural guidelines ASAP – before the Horse has bolted, the Cat is out of the bag and the Gorilla (sic) is in the mist.
* “The word Garagiste refers to the great Enzo Ferrari’s hatred of the multitude of talented, but small, Formula 1 teams that were emerging out of Britain in the late 50′s and early 60′s … were basically garage workers (grease monkeys in less formal parlance) compared to the engineering might of his Scuderia Ferrar. These teams didn’t produce their own engines or other ancillaries (aside from BRM), specialising mostly in light, nimble chassis”.http://dancleggf1.wordpress.com/2011/12/12/italys-garagistes/
Martin Brazill 