Technology should be simple!

I can remember a time when we believed that computer technology would liberate us from the mundane and give us more free time. There are days however when I feel that computers have enslaved us. Much of my time is devoted to "feeding the beast", just trying to keep all the applications and gadgets I use on a daily basis doing what I want them to do.

There are good examples though of technology that is simple and just works. A good friend of mine has a Kindle. He had it on the beach during a holiday and grew bored with the book he was reading. He browsed Amazon and saw another book which interested him. After downloading and reading the two free chapters he paid for and grabbed the entire book. Within minutes, he was reading the new book, without having gotten out of the beach chair. That's simple technology that works.

An interesting technology experience happened to me last week. My wife and I just moved from Europe and we haven't purchased a TV yet. We felt like watching a movie, but all we had was my laptop and our internet connection. We went to the web site of a major company that I heard is now offering download movie rentals. I quickly signed up, chose a movie and hit the download button - nothing happened. The movie would not download. Time to "feed the beast"! I wasn't going to walk away from the $3.99 I had just paid!

While the technology was broken, "feeding the beast" wasn't difficult. The web site had a nice link to "chat with a technical support person". I clicked that and stated my problem in the message window. Within 20 seconds, Angela typed back telling me to put my IE8 browser in compatibility mode, which I did and the download started. Having a live person to chat with was a good use of technology. Having the download technology work with the latest Microsoft browser would have been even better. The movie was mediocre.

I see great strides in making technology simple at the consumer end. We need to be doing more in the corporate environment. My company is global and we often have meetings in the USA office. Even though we have the same wireless configuration at all our offices, nearly every time we conduct these meetings, there are attendees lining up in the IT area asking for help in getting on the wireless. It's more than training staff, we do that, but the technology should "just work".

How would you rate ease of use for the technology you use as a consumer and the technology you use at work?

Operations vs Vision

As a technology executive, I am constantly trying to meet expectations. Many facets of the organization want me to manage operations. The IT infrastructure must be sound, hardware needs to be current, Disaster recovery must be in place, tested and documented and then there is COSO and COBIT. Added to the mix is Systems Integration, BI needs and how to flatten the Silo'ed applications I inherited when I took on this job.







In my organization, I am fortunate to report directly to the CEO. IT/IS is recognized as strategic and in reality, the platform on which our organization does business. The CEO however wants me to think and act strategically, chart a course for an effective and successful online presence and put in place a web architecture which can be monetized.


I work for a non-profit which means I do not have the resources to set up an in house web services department. That means I have to get out from behind my desk and establish the strategic partnerships and relationships to enable us to get that done. It's a tight balance. I need to oversee operations yet think and act strategically.


For me, the key to survival is a good team. Fortunately they know operations and are conscientious and proactive. They know how to to keep things running smoothly without me needing to micromanage. Delegation and encouraging growth and responsibility among the IT/IS staff also helps.


How do you handle competing pressures and expectations as a leader?