IT in Twenty-Ten: What Will Come Easy and What May Not
You didn’t think you’d ever read the following: Reports are in and Windows 7 is proving easier to handle than its detested predecessor, Vista.
Coming up with a plan to manage the resulting IT hodgepodge will prove maddening for any CIO.
According to a recent article by Ina Fried in CNetnews.com, Microsoft is experiencing fewer support calls since it launched Windows 7 – about half of what it expected. It’s attributable in part to the new version’s higher quality, but also, writes Fried, to Microsoft’s efforts to increase the effectiveness of self-service with an experts’ forum called Microsoft Answers and its @MicrosoftHelps Twitter feed.
As if that wasn’t good enough news for Microsoft, here’s another report to add to the Windows 7 love fest: According to market research firm ChangeWave, Windows 7 satisfaction has stimulated corporate IT spending.
In an article in Computerworld magazine, writer Gregg Keizer reports the findings and notes that the percent of IT buyers who said their company plans to increase its spending during the first quarter of 2010 jumped up four percentage points since August 2009. What’s more, 26 percent of respondents said their company plans to increase Microsoft product spending in particular.
In all, 93 percent of respondents said they are satisfied with Windows 7.
That’s enough Microsoft froth for one post. On to 2010’s challenges…
The greatest challenge for CIOs, at least according to TechRepublic, is BYOT, or “bring your own technology.”
In an article published January 4, writer Patrick Gray warns CIOs of the growing demand among workers to use their own devices. Coming up with a plan to manage the resulting hodgepodge of operating systems, platforms, antivirus programs and service packs will prove maddening for any CIO.
Here’s a graf from Gray that cuts to the core:
“… [A]n environment that’s locked down and ruthlessly controlled by IT simply will not cut it anymore. As computers and phones have gone from exclusively business tools to a means of personal expression, IT dictating make, model and application selection will be just as anathema as the CEO dictating what color shirt, shoes and pants to wear. Users are going to demand an ability to use devices of their choosing to interact with corporate infrastructure, and I believe this trend is irreversible. IT organizations can choose to fight a losing battle and maintain their walled kingdom, or adopt a BYOT approach.”
Whoa.
Does your IT department have a plan in place? Tell us about it in comments.
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