The End of I.T. (as we know it)
In this world of ever increasing numbers of computers and gadgets, it may seem strange to be predicting the end of the I.T. worker, but that’s exactly what I think the future holds.
Two trends in technology are converging which will diminish our need for people skilled in fixing our computers. In other words, the I.T. department at your office is going the way of the Dodo bird and here’s why.
People are increasingly moving their day-to-day computing needs onto (relatively) inexpensive portable devices such as smart phones and tablets. These devices continue to evolve at a break-neck pace, quickly gaining usability and features while dropping in price. Being skilled at fixing computers is based on the underlying premise that they are worth fixing in the first place. But that is no longer the case. When you device breaks or stops working, just throw it away and get a new one.
This very same trend has already happened with many other electronic devices such as T.V.s, VCRs, DVD players, wrist watches etc. It almost never makes economic sense to fix these devices. When the cost of the people exceeds the cost of the equipment they are paid to maintain, you get rid of the people.
“But what about my data?!” I hear you asking. Don’t worry about it. In the near future your devices will no longer store data locally. It’s all in the “cloud”. Just fire up your new device and all your data is there.
In short, the proliferation of cheap devices combined with the speed and availability of high speed internet access will have a dramatic impact on I.T. departments. Fewer and fewer organizations will be large enough to warrant full-time I.T. staff.
Yes there will still be I.T. people hidden in “the cloud”, and someone will still need to keep the networks running, but the days of the desktop P.C. technician are numbered.
I agree, John.
Companies spend a lot of capital and operating money on IT infrastructure and cloudy-stuff is a great way of moving that to a fairly fixed operating cost. I think the jobs will be split along the lines of “low level support” and “application support” with the latter category being where all the hard (higher paying) work is.
This will also open up work in the cloud space. The barrier to entry is almost nil — I wrote my own application in my spare time with very little costs outside my time. The company that acquired me has around 100,000 users and doesn’t own a single server. There are entire app stores devoted to making sure people can find these applications, and many take care of billing which is one of the more annoying aspects of running an online business.