I find it interesting how technology reinvents itself so rapidly. The reason for this is probably attributable to Moore’s Law or in fact the 'Highway Law'… build another lane, and cars and trucks will fill it. Incidentally, I think here is also a 'Hype law' in today’s IT social ecosystem that fuels our decisions, good and bad. Fortunately, in many cases, policy process or common sense prevails; otherwise our already chaotic lives may spin out of control.
Computing obviously exploded into the enterprise a long time ago. It (IT) transformed so much, for so many, in such a short period of time, how could it not succeed? Collaboration, productivity, and communication capability all grew exponentially, and in many cases chaotically. But that was OK. Companies were enjoying a boom, and back then, IT could afford to be inefficient and still look like a rock star. I won’t bore you with the whole mainframe to server to web to virtual to Cloud computing story. I am glad of the boom and the exposures this has presented companies throughout each stage of their growth. Numara has built a solid business over the years helping companies manage over 20 million IT assets in a more structured way. We are a world leader in this, but the IT industrial wheel keeps turning, so what's next…. ?
Well this is probably going to shock you: 'The PC is dead… long live the PC'
Well... perhaps not dead, but transitioning to a new life. Just look at how our lives have changed with the advent of smart mobile devices. Are all these little ‘AndroidyiOSSymbioticRasberry's going to become 'THE' processor and storage gateway to a personal cloud? Will we see wireless 'video bluetooth' connections to your nearest surface device? I have a friend who is working for a satellite broadband company (not new) but this one will offer mobility with astonishing bandwidth in both directions while in a car traveling at 100MPH. So is the locally wired and wireless LAN dead?
Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending which way you look at these things, transition takes time. IT has different audience needs at different times and at different adoption rates. Is everyone going to upgrade to Win 8 on the same day? No, of course not. But while we all struggle to spin the IT plate to keep today’s lights on, we have to keep an eye on the next rotation; the management of today’s mobile device. The security of today’s mobile information, integration into today’s IT and, perhaps, the birth of a new industry could be labeled as PPSP Lifecycle Management. No not a games machine with a stutter, but a Personal Processing and Storage Platform.
How will policy, process or good old common sense intertwine in this world? Well I think we are already seeing it happen. It’s appearing in Mobile Device Management (MDM), the extension of ITIL process, security monitoring, change control, and perhaps in the biggest move most recently of Google’s acquisition of Motorola. Are we seeing a start of the mobile mainframe? Now it’s my head that’s spinning full circle!
Andrew White is chief marketing officer of Numara Software - a leading global provider of integrated IT operations management solutions.
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