Improving the "Velocity" of IT

Check this out: "IT Is Too Darn Slow".

This article is packed with helpful advice on how to improve "velocity" and the pace of innovation.

Good quotes: "Once IT decides to focus on speed, two obstacles get in the way: security and governance." This is important. Manage security without it becoming an impediment.

One of the most important things not mentioned here is the idea that internal security must be a simple, cheap commodity. A identity manager and SSO framework needs to be standard, available, and well-understood. Each project shouldn't involve head-scratching and deep thinking about security. Like an OS and a file system, security infrastructure should be a given.

Another good quote: "IT can't set priorities for 10 projects spread over the next two years because, once projects one, two, and three are done, that will change what would have been four, five, and six."

What isn't provided is the a way to handle the accounting practices that always seem to take IT hostage. The idea of "capital" vs. "expense" can serve as a weird artificial boundary on innovative projects. Lots of innovation gets chopped off when the "capital" budget is spent, and we switch over to "expense" where we can't invent anything new. It's the same people. Yet, the money is "different".

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