The name Minds4IT came into existence as I contemplated what was going on in the IT industry and heard information about Generation Y and the Millennial generation. The basic premise was that the “younger” generations are different than the current generations within most management positions. They have different work ethics, have different expectations, and require a different style of resource management. This article is not going to debate how to manage these younger folks. Instead it is focused on a different approach to segmentation. The segmentation I am focusing upon is not age, it is technology awareness. This is also not to intimate that there are not many “older” people who are technology savvy. There is a tendency for educated people to be more technology aware because they are more likely to have white collar jobs and have more exposure to technology. However, the invention of the smartphone and the tablet, have raised awareness around something called “Consumerization of IT” (COIT). COIT is essentially the tendency for the consumer to drive IT choices. While the consumer is a key factor, I don’t believe they alone are going to drive IT choices.

To me there are several minds summarized by the Minds4IT brand; the IT savvy business partner, the IT savvy consumer and the IT professional. When these minds collaborate they can more efficiently solve consumer and business problems than ever before. Many IT management books and articles have been written regarding the increasing requirements to align the IT function with the business. Our premise is different as we focus on increasing the utilization of the IT minds already in the business teams and then where necessary work with the IT resources to improve the problem resolution process. In essence to quote John Heywood; “Two heads are better than one.”

While this concept is not new or unique it is more important than ever considering the trigger point which has occurred around exposure to computers. Young people have never known a world without them and we are building on the concept that this fundamentally changes how they think. That shift in thinking is the heart of the IT mind. Gone are the days when IT professionals can lament about the dumb users. Jokes about the Problem Exists Between Keyboard And Chair (PEBKAC) and idiot user (id-10-t) errors have no place. In many situations the business partners are as knowledgable regarding technology than the IT department and on top of that knowledge they have the business knowledge which is driving the increased need or use of technology. I recently heard a story from a colleague of mine regarding a CIO who had two implementations of Salesforce.com going on within his business and that these business partners were questioning their need for him and his IT department. This speaks volumes about the evolution which is occurring.

If you are reading this blog, then we are supposing you want to be part of the community driving this evolution. To drive the evolution of the technology mind you need to create the environment for success. In order to expand this evolution within your environment you must focus o on the ability to leverage the IT mind. Key focus areas include the necessary management structures, technology structures, and integrated cultures to mash together the traditional IT professional with the IT savvy business partner. What are these things and how do they play a role in the evolution of the IT environment?

A. Management structure

Trust and empower your business partners. IT members need to remember to not be the “no” people; but, be the resource people. Too many IT efforts strictly focus on creating and focusing the control within IT. This has Failure written all over it. IT focus should be on education and risk. Help the business put together an Information Risk Management strategy. Assist them with managing vendors by having a repeatable vendor management process. Recognize and assist the business with turning commodity items into X as a Service (XaaS). (Infrastructure as a Service, Platform as a Service, Software as a Service, and any other XaaS which can be moved to a vendor or cloud)

B. Technology

The increased use of technology such as community forums, social media, chat, video, etc. are ever expanding in today’s business entities. Embrace the social aspects of technology; Baby boomers aren’t interested in using Facebook until they realize they can get up to the minute status on their grandchildren’s lives. IT can create up to the minute status on projects. Enable forums for people to dialog on issues or projects. Other uses of technology include promoting and increasing the use of videos on security and enabling associates to self-provision applications. Ever thought about creating an app store to distribute various applications to the user population? It’s all the rage; Ok, seriously, the intent is to empower the associate to self-service.

C. Culture

Recognize that as many aspects of IT become commodities and can be best provided by vendors, through the use outsourcing, and economies of scale. Build a culture where these items are segmented so the IT department can partner with the business on value instead of price. By integrating both IT and the business into the team you can break down the us vs. them mentality many IT people have with their users and many associates have about IT. Collaboration and simplicity of integration is king. Both sides have knowledge and value to provide, the key is to find a way to allow them to bring that context and experience to the table equally.