Real World Computing

There seems to have been quite a bit of press lately about “Shadow IT” and it gives the impression that it's a new thing. Perhaps having a formally recognised name is new but shadow IT has been around throughout my (so far 28 year) career in IT and I suspect that it's much older than that. What is Shadow IT? Shadow IT is what happens when someone, not associated with the IT department, starts offering IT services to other parts of the business. Shadow IT can take the form of someone bringing in software from home, downloading software or even writing their own. Sometimes hardware is involved too with work PCs being opened, repaired, upgraded or otherwise "enhanced". In particular, since the emergence of cheap network hardware and the explosive growth of USB, its become very common to find users trying to plug their own hardware into work systems and networks. Sometimes new systems are developed. In one place I worked, a marketing employee rolled out a La...

Computing has long been described as something similar to religion. There have been “nerd-wars” fought over Windows vs Mac and Word vs Wordperfect vs Wordstar, for decades so it’s really no surprise that the leaders of many computer companies are becoming “God-Like” in their evangelism -- but is it a good thing? To a certain extent, yes… it’s a good thing to have a person as a focal point for your company.  It's kind of like having a thought-leader as a "mascot" and it's particularly important in the early years as it helps to build recognition.  After a while though, the focus switches from the company to the person, and that’s not a good thing.  Apple The case in point is Apple. If Steve Jobs was the messiah for Apple, including being “killed” by his own people and resurrecting himself, then Tim Cook is his Saint Paul.  Tim Cook is full of letters and quotes but he’s simply following in Steve’s footsteps.  He’s not really adding anything particularly ne...