subject: The History Of It Management [print this page] As technology has evolved and become increasingly pervasive, there isn't a business function that isn't in some way enabled by technology. The point at which business finds itself today is one of "IT is the business," and vice versa. IT management cannot be viewed any differently than the fundamental business processes on which the organization operates. This article will take a brief look at the history of IT management.
IT management is now as integral a part of business as is financial reporting, manufacturing processes or even chairs and desks. In the coming years, it's possible that the roles of CIO and COO will become one in the same, and IT capabilities will ultimately dissipate into the organization as fundamental operating skills required by any executive. This complete integration of IT into the business causes information to become the driving force, not any specific technology.
Mike Atwood, Principal of the Everest Group, once stated in his article The Art of Governance: "An outsourcing relationship is like a marriage". The romance of the courtship or the airtight codicils of the prenuptial agreement do not contribute to the ongoing strength of the relationship."
And when it comes to the vitality and longevity of today's successful outsourcing relationship - based on a mutual governance framework - it is wise to first look back on the evolution of outsourcing IT management.
The escalating reliance on IT in the past 20 years has brought an entirely new dynamic to virtually every business, regardless of size. The way in which IT infrastructure is managed has taken on increasing importance.
So too has the relationship between IT management and managers of operational business groups. Today's CIO and teams of IT managers need to run a cost-efficient organization and build an infrastructure that will ultimately help the company increase sales. It's a classic investment spending scenario. Indeed, a fair amount has been written in recent years about the differences between the mindsets of business managers and the IT managers who work for or with them or their outsourcing partners. Regardless of philosophical differences, it's difficult to dodge the inevitable question: "Who knows best?"
In their management-mandated quest to reign in IT costs, IT executives turned to outsourcing as an effective way to run a state-of-the-art operation without breaking the corporate bank. In many ways, outsourcing is the optimal solution to the problem. In an effective outsourcing relationship, IT organizations can focus on strategic issues and goals, while the IT management outsourcing partner takes on the operation and maintenance of some or all of the company's systems. With IT management outsourcing came the need for effective governance to ensure an appropriate level of control and oversight of a third party provider.
Today, IT management and outsourcing continues to evolve with the changing needs of organizations around the world.
