Mossberg calls IT departments "regressive and poisonous" forces impeding new technology adoption

Catching up on some reading... and I discovered that Walt Mossberg, personal-technology columnist at The Wall Street Journal, last month had some choice words about IT departments. According to The Chronicle of Higher Education (22 June 2007, subscription required), Mossberg was giving a speech to a group of college presidents and other administrators, and called IT departments at large organizations "the most regressive and poisonous force in technology today."

Why? He said they have a bias towards centralization; favor software from big-name vendors over lesser-known software that might work better; and prevent individuals from exploring what technology products are best-suited to their own needs. "After the speech, he elaborated in an interview, saying that big [IT] departments act as impediments to the adoption of new technology," the Chronicle said.

My view: This discussion seems especially relevant at a time when Gartner Inc. is telling IT departments they should welcome consumer technologies -- but not support the iPhone.
 
The Chronicle asked several college officials for their reactions to Mossberg's general comments (NOT in an iPhone context, because this was pre-iPhone).

Thomas Scott, senior ERP strategist, University of Wisconsin at Madison, said it's an age-old issue about how much computing should be centralized. "I think we should be asking those questions all the time."

Mark Luker, vice president of Educause, said there's always been a tension between centrally controlled IT at large organizations, which tend to be geared to efficiency, and the flexibility at small organizations to make fast changes. The pendulum has shifted from centralized mainframes to more distributed computing, he said, but with "organized criminals trying to break into every computer on the network," more organization is required.

Brian D. Voss, CIO at Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge, said he was worried about how college presidents will take Mossberg's comment. But he added that there's some truth to Mossberg's message. People do question the need for tight controls and IT departments need to do a better job of communicating why some things are permitted and others aren't, he said.

Theresa M. Rowe, assistant vice president for university technology services at Oakland University (in Michigan), said that even centralized IT departments could be agile and responsive -- and encourage innovation. But she said IT departments also have to keep a lid on costs.

Russell Merrill, CIO at Delaware State University, said students and faculty members can use whatever they want on campus -- but they can't necessarily expect the IT department to support it if something goes wrong. "It would drive costs way through the roof," he said.