Don’t let ‘IT innovation wars’ blind us to common sense

IT innovation is currently one of the biggest buzz phrases in ITSM, and with good reason.  Many IT departments had become stale, a fact highlighted vividly by the speed at which business users have adopted consumer devices.  That users will accept the pitfalls of being an early adopter - and use their own cash to acquire expensive equipment in the process - shows how great the appetite is for cutting-edge tech.  We have argued before that IT operations need to have the same mindset if they are to remain relevant today.

However, the hype around innovation should not cloud better judgement on the fundamentals of delivering technology.  Take this investigation by Channel 4 which says that contactless bank payments are ripe for exploitation, citing its own investigation showing the ease at which financial information can be mined from a mobile phone.  

There’s no need to get into the specifics of this case; we could easily use other examples of technology failures.  The point is that in the haste of banks (or indeed any industry) to adopt the latest systems and innovations, there is always a risk that a half-baked service is released.  Now that IT is placing such a premium on delivering new technology, the danger is that IT innovation wars will distract us from what is still our primary purpose - to provision effective IT services.

Of course, this issue will ultimately come down to balance, with the IT departments or businesses best able to blend the cutting-edge with the fundamentals becoming sought-after resources.  This will be a challenge decided by a combination of technical skills, bravado and a grounded sense of IT delivery fundamentals.  It’s a lot to ask, but that is the unavoidable reality of anyone working in IT today.  

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