SMARTER STRATEGIES

Is Traditional IT Management Software Now Pass�?

Dennis McCafferty | Date: 11-12-10 | Comments

Social media tools and cloud computing have empowered users within an enterprise to make their own choices, according to a new report from a top IT industry researcher. Instead of fearing this change, IT managers need to embrace it.

Social media has certainly made many givens in life obsolete, like the need to call your mother every other day. Or attend high-school reunions. Or ever buy a photo album again.

And, in the workplace, social media continues to phase out traditional forms and deployments of technology. The latest are traditional IT management software (ITMS) apps, according to Forrester Research, the Cambridge, Mass.-based IT industry research company. ITMS is swiftly losing its relevancy in an era when consumers are increasingly driving IT demand and the cloud allows them to access products easily.

It's essentially about the democratization of software for the masses. Users�including employees within the enterprise that IT managers oversee�no longer have to depend upon "the tech folks" to impart "wisdom" about what business-software tools are best for them. Instead, they can tap upon social media or cloud resources to research and obtain the tools they want. Click here for more about the report. Here's what IT managers need to know about this trend, according to Forrester:

● All users�even "non-techies" within your organization�are getting savvier about software. They're only going to get more informed and computer-literate over time. Demand for end-user training and manuals is dying, Forrester reports, so modern business applications must have intuitive user interfaces to best serve organizations. It's expected that future business applications will provide "a Facebook-like UI, built around applications stakeholders and task owners, that displays each user's current and recently completed tasks and relevant profile information, such as phone numbers, e-mail, skill sets, etc.," according to Forrester analyst Peter O'Neill, the lead author of the report.

● Folks are asking Google first. Search engines are the authoritative option in exploring software products to meet business needs, not the IT service desk. A quick tweet on Twitter can also get needed answers more quickly than the standard call-the-techies approach. It not only produces a faster response, but also a more universal one, often engaging multiple perspectives so more choices can be considered. IT managers need to realize that they can either fight, ignore or embrace this shift�but they won't stop it, according to the report. Those who embrace it and work with an ever-increasingly mobile workforce to produce best practices for self-service IT will find themselves more likely to increase employee satisfaction, boost productivity and even lower operational costs.

● IT managers need to get a better handle on what's out there. User empowerment translates into greater potential for security intrusions and less control over quality assurance. One option is a have-it-both-ways approach, in which traditional ITMS practices are combined with the new-generation approach. Splunk, for example, provides Google-like index and search capabilities, but also allows system-event messages, system-log files, file directories and performance-related metrics within an IT enterprise. Many enterprises are now standardizing their systems monitoring on Splunk, and even using it to enhance business-level decision-making, Forrester reports.