The Inevitable and Revolutionary Future of IT
Technology has changed virtually everything: the way we work, the way we live, the way we play, and, at a basic level, how humans relate to each other.
On the business front, it has fueled the power shift from institutions to customers, powered the emergence of startups and super-scaled platforms that are undercutting and remaking traditional markets, and changed the way employees work.
Technology’s impact is both revolutionary and unsurprising. Ironically, it has not (yet) changed the fundamental model of IT. But that is going to change.
It’s not just the inevitable force of technology. Here is a shortlist of dynamics that conspire to create a far different future for IT:
- The way work gets done is changing, from clear functions, jobs, and deliverables to a fluid set of tasks that naturally embed technology.
- The destruction of stale, hierarchical organizational models will soon be replaced by shape-shifting organizations that are highly adaptable to hyper-dynamic markets.
- Linear development and even agile co-creation will prove insufficient in a world where new competition constantly experiments with technology to drive innovation.
- New, technology-savvy board members and CEOs will feel more comfortable with and obligated to technology as a strategic weapon.
All told, the combined market, technological, and economic forces will overwhelm — and destroy — traditional ways of thinking about IT and replace the function with a bolder, immersive version of IT that can drive a whole new set of innovations and possibilities.
The future of IT is a stark change from IT’s original mandate to support the business and control an alien set of technologies. It changes the idea that technology should be bound by the current rules and norms of business to the idea that technology itself sparks new ways of thinking, new ways of creating value, and new ways of working.
Technology-driven innovation can seem like a fancy way of saying technology for technology’s sake, but it is better seen as a way to widen the corporate imagination and allow any company, startup or old guard, to adapt to and thrive in a market shaped and fueled by technology.
Forrester's Sharyn Leaver, senior vice president, Research and Victor Milligan, chief marketing officer authored this article, which can also be found here.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of CDOTrends.
