Holy Grail of IT Opeations?

Today's IT professional is caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place. Under constant pressure to reduce costs, they still have to keep up with changing business conditions in support of their customers AND deal with the increasing mobile demands of those same business customers. Is it any wonder they are looking for quick wins, simple paths to automation of basic tasks?

I would submit, however, they must focus on building the business case to focus on improving their people, their processes, and how they interact with the business. These are not easy tasks and, in many cases, do not come naturally to the technology leader of an organization. There is a need, no a mandate, for IT leadership to surround themselves with exceptional, high-energy, committed, and trust-worthy individuals. These are those to whom the IT leader will delegate the "running of the shop." This will then open the opportunities to focus his or her time on the governance and business issues that will guide the IT department in its strategic calling of supporting the business in achieving world-class competitiveness.

This takes an investment, time, and long-term vision. There is no quick fix here. If there were, everyone would have already done it by now.

Interestingly, everyone knows this. Yet we still chase after the elusive Holy Grail of IT Operations: instant automation, cost reduction, efficiency. Instant gratification is a fool's chase.