"In the 'real world,' consumer technology (CT) and operational technology (OT) are as effective in value delivery as IT is. To understand modern software, we need to think in terms of IT+CT+OT."

Opening Statement

SOFTWARE EMANCIPATED

I still remember the nights filled with the tremendous rush of adrenaline that accompanied my getting the Technion¹ IBM 360/50 in stand-alone mode for system programming work. Being the sole "master" of millions and millions of lines of operating system code was intoxicating for the young kid that I was then. Drawing a distinction between software and IT had not occurred to me at all -- the IBM 360/50 with its millions and millions lines of code (was it the MFT operating system or was it actually its "cousin" MVT?), together with various IBM applications and "free" on-premises customer support, were tightly bundled together physically, logically, and contractually. As far as I was concerned back then, IT was the sole channel for any software.

Fast-forwarding to July 2013, I perceive the two -- software and IT -- as completely independent. IT is just one possible channel through which software delivers value. Moreover, the traditional IT channel is being outclassed, outgunned, and outmaneuvered along two dimensions, as follows:

1. Within the corporation, IT is becoming departmental. For most practical purposes, marketing already has its own IT; other departments will no doubt soon follow. These inhouse structural and budgetary shifts are accentuated by the rise of a new class of service providers such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Heroku, Cloud Foundry, and AppFog.

2. In the "real world," consumer technology (CT) and operational technology (OT) are as effective in value delivery as IT is. From Spotify on our iPhones to utilities, cars, and cities becoming smarter and smarter,² software, to a large degree, is delivered and creates value either independent of IT as we knew it, or as part of an overall configuration in which IT is not necessarily the most important component. To understand modern software, we need to think in terms of IT+CT+OT.

From what I glean in various client engagements, what we are experiencing these days is transformative. Both CT and OT are disrupting well-established paradigms we accepted and followed "forever." In particular, the information and communications technology (ICT) paradigm that prevailed through the fifth technological revolution³ is sort of becoming "ICT on steroids." As Cutter Fellow Robert Charette recently told me, he does not expect his grandchildren will drive cars, let alone know how to drive them.

Forthcoming evolution in any one of the three areas -- IT, CT, and OT -- is quite intriguing. When all three evolutions are pulled together in a synergistic manner,⁴ they have the potential to turn into a revolution.

A PRISM FOR THE READER

If you accept the premise articulated in the previous section, the natural question to ask is, "What is a CIO to do?" If the projected changes indeed take place, the breadth and complexity of the issues to deal with might be overwhelming even for the best and the brightest.

I would suggest you use this issue of Cutter IT Journal as kind of a prism that refracts the overarching trend into five kinds of "light," as follows.

First, Cutter Fellow Steve Andriole addresses the reorganization of IT. Andriole expects most of the "action" to reside in the business units, while three functions -- infrastructure, architecture, and security -- will remain centralized. These will report to the CFO as part of the enterprise audit function.

Likewise, our second author, Paul Clermont, foresees a revolution in the IT function, which he refers to as the "ITF." At the CxO level, aggressive tooling for "ITF 2.0" is called for. At the individual level, Clermont sees it as a matter of "adapt or die." For those who would not adapt, he suggests that a career in organic farming is as noble a pursuit as IT is.

Conversely, in our third article, authors Enrique Castro-Leon, Robert Harmon, and Mazin Yousif perceive services in general, and service innovation in particular, as the "glue" that will continue to hold IT together. They are actually bullish to the extent of asserting that "IT innovation has never stopped, and there is no indication that it will ever will."

Our fourth author, Cutter Fellow Vince Kellen, differentiates between tactics and strategy. Strategically, firms will continue to use IT capabilities to succeed in the market. Tactics for so doing, will, of course change. New architectural and organizational skills will be required to exploit those new tactics.

Last but not the least, Yesha Sivan considers IT as the driver of innovation. He examines five kinds of innovation platforms: process innovation platforms, generative innovation platforms, ready-made innovation platforms, technological innovation platforms, and "build-your-own" innovation platforms. Sivan argues that in enabling, supporting, and building these innovation platforms, IT plays a crucial role in innovation.

ACTING ON THE TEA LEAVES

This issue of Cutter IT Journal is rich in actionable insights. Some of these insights are already being acted upon in segments where the pros clearly trump the cons. For example, numerous chief marketing officers (CMOs) are de facto running their own IT departments. Some do so as shadow IT, some in collaboration with their CIOs. Either way, in conjunction with the new generation of software providers discussed above, software has been emancipated by these CMOs.

The pragmatic question readers of this issue will wrestle with is, "When does an actionable insight become worth acting upon?" For example, if you are a CIO, you may wonder what the right time for reorganizing your IT department along the lines proposed here might be.

My answer to this question is "sooner than you think." The only thing one needs to add to the qualitative approach used in this issue is a rigorous quantitative analysis. Once such an analysis is available, the decision as to which insight to act on now and which one is better left for the next year or the year after becomes a fairly straightforward calculation.

The ancient Greeks believed that the future is behind us.⁵ To their way of thinking, we can see the past and the present -- they are in front of us. Conversely, the future (which can't be seen) is behind us. I would humbly submit that, metaphorically speaking, the future of IT is indeed behind us. It will take backing into it to clearly understand where it heads and to act on this understanding. The articles in this issue of the Cutter IT Journal will serve you well as you back into the future.

ENDNOTES

¹ Technion = the Israel Institute of Technology.

² For a comprehensive list of the potential OT applications, see: "Smart Infrastructure: The Future." The Royal Academy of Engineering (UK), January 2012.

³ Perez, Carlota. Technological Revolutions and Financial Capital: The Dynamics of Bubbles and Golden Ages. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2002.

⁴ For example, through a construct similar to "full-stack mobile."

⁵ Knox, Bernard. Backing into the Future: The Classical Tradition and Its Renewal. W.W. Norton, 1994.

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