Changes in IT careers

I read through the current special report on the face of IT in 2010 and was drawn to the article on the changes in the IT careers.  I agree with the findings of the researchers when they state the IT staff will be built on a more versatile knowledge worker than we have seen in the past.  This is a trend that has been building for some time. 

I remember back to the mid-80s when most shops (large and small) had a few programmers on board.  With the advent of 4GL languages and the rapid development of object-oriented methodology, the programming staff started to shrink and eventually disappeared. As large software houses began to be established, the quality of a few good applications grew, pushing many small software shops out of the picture.  For example, ten years ago there were at least 70 companies offering cost accounting packages for the construction industry.  At this time there are maybe 20 such packages.  Most are written in OO languages and the majority run either on Oracle or Microsoft's SQL database.  Standardization and simplicity.  As the developers are supporting a larger customer base, they tend to do a better job in supporting the product. While the application doesn't fit all customers in all areas, the standard package covers 95% of the needs.  Corporations will modify their procedures to fit around the applications.

I also agree in the view that the future will have a greater portion of the staff working with the end-users.  The days of IT sitting behind a glass wall are soon to pass.  The business users need to have IT in their midst.  At a large construction company I recently placed the application support analyst out in the finance office.  His cube sat alongside the Accounts Payable manager and, while he reported to the IT director, he worked with "his" users.  Ten years ago he would have sat in the IT office space, seeing his users once a day, at best.  What I'm getting at is the need to evolve from the traditional IT department that has very specific boundaries to one that works side-by-side with the users.

As generalists, the IT staff needs to be seen as part of the corporate team.  The alternative is to use a standard package (think SAP, for example) and outsource all your user support overseas.   Unless IT can evolve, the next support call your users make could be answered in Chennai.