An End to the IT ‘End User’

Feb 16, 2012 | blog, featured

Do everything from my phone!

Courtesy of Dell Inc.

This has bothered me for quite a while, and I thought it about time to mention it.  Hang on though, this may be a bit of a rant, but it bears bringing up.

Why do corporate IT departments continue to call their customers “end users”?

Of course, it’s part of the language of IT, part of the culture as well.  You know the jokes, “if only we could get rid of the users, our support costs would go down”.  Good for a laugh on a stressful day, but what’s really being said there?

Are we that far off the path of providing quality, usable, enjoyable technology solutions for our businesses that all we focus on is the difficulty in doing so?

I think we’re missing an opportunity to re-connect with our co-workers, our customers within the business.  They should not be minimized in the we that they are by IT.  They’re our co-workers and cube neighbors.  They deserve our respect.  They’re out selling, or balancing the company budget, or dreaming up a new product to sell.  They’re not trying to be challenging, they’re simply using the tools we provide to get their job done.

New Perspectives

The issue I see is that most IT staff are too busy trying to solve problems rather than provide solutions.  What it really boils down to is a change in attitude, and revising perspectives.  We’re missing the point if all we’re trying to do is reduce call volume.

Just like the larger goal of the businesses we work for – our focus in IT needs to be on satisfying our customers.  In order for the business to grow and prosper, it needs to focus on the customer.  So too does IT.

New Priorities

No longer is IT about providing a standard computing platform.  Or stressing everyone out about security.  Of course these are important things, but they are but one aspect of the technology landscape within an organization.

The consumerization of IT is greater than supporting the iPhone or Android devices.  It’s an opportunity for IT to join the revolution in our industry.  Corporate standards are great, but as more people make the move to provide their own computing platform, we need to rise to the challenge of providing great user experiences and outstanding support.

Raise the Bar

What we need to do as IT professionals, is to look outside our environment for inspiration.  Look at how other companies are solving the challenges facing them.  Accept the fact that people expect more of IT than we provided just a year ago… heck, more than we’re providing today.

While I’m not an Apple fan, I do admire the user experience all their customers enjoy.  Sure, the phrase “it just works” is over-used, the reality is that it’s true.  This is the new standard that our business customers expect.  This is the new standard we need to meet.  This is the new opportunity we have as an industry.

I hope it’s not too late.

Featured photo on front page: Way too much work at the office today. Argggggghhh! by slworking2 on Flickr

Pondering A Motorola Nexus Droid

Jan 31, 2012 | blog, featured

Morotola_Droid_Razr

Courtesy of Motorola Mobility

I’ve been on the fence for some time regarding whether Google should use Motorola to produce a pure Google Android phone.  There are lots of reasons why this would impact the Android marketplace in many predictable ways, but could also bring a number of unknown effects.

However, I’ve been thinking lately of all the so-called fragmentation, and of all the varying user interfaces (skins) that every OEM ships with their phones.  Some are great, most aren’t.  They all add unnecessary overhead to the Android experience, no matter how good they may seem on the surface.

Maybe I’m simply an Android ‘purist’, or a Google Fanboi – take your pick.  Among other things, one of the missing components of the Android ecosystem is a line of true, pure Android devices.

Sure, the Nexus series of phones is as honest an experience that you can find in the Android universe today.  I had the privilege of owning the original Nexus One – a phone that still kicks ass for my daughter Brianna and that keeps amazing me with its ability to seem relevant two years later.

To be honest though, what the market needs is a line of true Google devices.  While I realize that the Motorola isn’t complete by any means, and that it could still unravel, I think this is what Google needs to use their new division for.  When I first heard about the deal, I thought it may affect the Android market in negative ways.  That Google recognized this and would work towards ensuring their OEM partners of fair participation in the availability and participation in Android code releases.

What I fear at this point is that Google will stick to this promise and not take the opportunity to clarify what this can mean to the marketplace.

Google needs to set the tone for Android.  Period.

They can do this without jeopardizing the Nexus program, releasing their own take on a line of devices through Motorola.  Not flooding the marketing with 12 designs in a year, but just three.  One candy bar style like we’re all accustomed to, one slider with keyboard, and one BlackBerry style with smaller screen and dedicated keyboard.

This does several things:

  1. Demonstrate the positive affects of timely, consistent firmware updates across a standardized platform.
  2. The Android market would have a pure Android option to choose from on multiple carriers.
  3. OEMs would have a baseline Android device to compare their enhancements to, differentiating their products.
  4. The Nexus series would continue similar to today as annual examples of state-of-the art, premium devices.
  5. Google could demonstrate standardization, without mandating blandness across OEMs.
  6. The Motorola deal becomes more than just a patent purchase, and allows Google to bring some of the best concepts of Apple’s iPhone and Microsoft’s WP7 approaches to leading their ecosystem.

Granted, this is simply my wish list, but is having Google produce their own phone really that ‘evil’?

Featured Android image on front page: 0076_droid_misc_03 by Mike Sullivan


Happiness CD

Jan 28, 2012 | featured, happiness

A tasty beverage, good people, and good times at your favorite joint.

UPDATE: After posting, I’d realized the Roman number in the title was wrong.  Oops!  It’s fixed but I left the permalink unchanged… just in case you were curious.

Technology Redux

Jan 12, 2012 | blog, featured

nixie

'nixie' by teclasorg

So I find myself a year into another technology consulting gig for “the big client”.  It’s an interesting thing after spending a couple of years working both the corporate IT world and growing a community for social media professionals.

While I’ve grown a little tired of social media for its ability to enable too much interaction, I do find I miss the action. Sometimes.  As you may have noticed, I’ve backed away from the social media space in the past six months or so.  It’s a conscious decision on my part to get back to basics, and focus on life directions.

Sometimes I forget how much a technology career has rewarded me over the last two decades. With the ability to work with new things, and see the potential within an early product design.  I love looking at something new that someone has built, and not only see what they’re trying to do, but see the hidden potential, the part they haven’t grasped yet.  That’s one of the things I love most about technology – and about social media.  There is still so much unexplored territory, and I can’t wait to see what other new things come along.

If you’ve ever been to CES (Consumer Electronics Show) or SXSW or another similarly large and impactful trade show.  There is so much excitement, so much going on, that you can’t sit still.  When you’re there, it’s exciting, it’s new, and you’re a part of it.  That’s how I view technology every day.

But here’s the thing I’m getting to.  I’m back to doing the deep thinking for large organizations on standards-setting processes around technology.  It’s something I’m good at, and something I enjoy doing.  It’s also allowed me to neglect blogging.  More importantly, it’s kept me from writing… nearly anything that isn’t a technical manual, and it shows.

That’s what this post is really about.  Simply making myself sit down and write something, even if I cringe when I hit ‘Publish’.  In the end, it’s the passion for social media and technology that keeps me thinking of blogging and sharing crazy ideas and opinions.

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