Politics and language matter
1 min read
Are IT providers doing enough to banish hype and jargon, asks WM's Brian Tinham
The vast majority (84%) of IT decision-makers in manufacturing say their cloud computing provider is not listening to their requirements.
Surprised? That's among findings of a survey commissioned by managed data services firm Six Degrees, which also reveals that 92% feel service providers should do more to demystify cloud.
Proof of the scale of discontent includes figures such as: 96% believe 'cloud-washing' by marketing departments is increasing; and 92% are not happy with cloud service providers' understanding of their needs.
For Six Degrees strategy director Campbell Williams, the worry is that false promises and jargon are together tarnishing the reputation not just of cloud computing, but also IT generally. "Businesses are being told that everything is fine and promises are being made that issues can be solved," he states. "However, the problem now is that businesses no longer believe what they are hearing."
That's a bleak analysis and, if true, a great pity. Especially given that cloud computing has the potential to drive one of the biggest technology and cost revolutions in manufacturing, possibly since the advent of the internet.
But there's more: it's also a shame, given the fact that business leaders need to use IT effectively to stay ahead of the game, while IT leaders depend on new solutions to innovate and stay relevant. Clearly, both in this symbiotic relationship are being held back by inexcusable failures – and hence, so is UK manufacturing.
Global IT compliance body ISACA intends to tackle some of these issues at its INSIGHTS 2013 conference, which runs from 10-12 June in Berlin. Its theme is 'Smart IT + smart business = a smart future', with a focus on how business and IT managers can partner more effectively to optimise performance and return real value.
But closer to home, it's worth noting that, despite Six Degrees' pessimism, uptake of innovative IT appears fairly healthy. Only last month, for example, ERP conglomerate Infor announced that its latest Infor ION lightweight middleware technology is now its top-selling and fastest-growing product ever.
It's all a far cry from the early days of computing. Can't imagine the developers of EDSAC (Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator), which ran its first computing service for Cambridge scientists back in 1949, worrying about the politics or language of technology. Or perhaps they did?
