During last night’s NUGeeks meeting, the topic of IT as a partnership came up again. Even though it is disheartening to hear how often IT workers (and whole departments) are seen as nothing more than a cost center for an organization, I still hold out for the day when IT is seen as a valuable part of the business as a whole and a partner in moving things ahead in the organization.
There is a wealth of information stored up in your IT department and most of the people who are there would be more than willing to sit in and give you advice and feedback on how technology might be better leveraged to help you achieve whatever goals you are aiming for. This could be something that is seen as mundane, but helps keep data more consistent and useful or it could be something as large as a huge technology overhaul that the person has been thinking about for a long time.
The people who are in your organization are a valuable asset that should be used as much as possible. While there is a lot to be gained from outside perspective, those who are working closely with the data and the people of your organization have a perspective that no outside vendor or expert will ever have. Why not use that?
2 replies on “IT as a Partnership”
I think the partnership should be even deeper than that. Why do we think of IT as its own division or department in an organization? IT *IS* the organization. Without technology, most organizations wouldn’t be able to exist today. Each and every department or division should think of IT as part of their group. We’re partners in helping them do their job.
Our task is to enable them to do their jobs at their level. We’re not supposed to be dictating from on high how they will use technology to do their jobs. We can provide solutions as long as they provide us with a chance to be involved in the discussion and decisions.
I like that even better. Perfect.