Naked CIO: Tech is my job, not your hobby

Why does everyone inside organisations think they know better than the IT department when it comes to technology? Asks the Naked CIO.

Within modern businesses, technology is the only discipline that is both a profession and a hobby - and it's a contradiction that hurts the reputation of the IT organisation.

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You don't see accountants go home and play with numbers but there are plenty of non-IT professionals that love being IT hobbyists in their spare time.

As a result, the hobbyists seem to think they know what needs to be done within an IT department just because they play around at home on their computer - and last week maybe even switched out their hard drive.

That means in every organisation you may have only 100 IT people - but 1,000 people who believe they are experts in IT.

It seems to a phenomenon that only affects the IT department. I never recall complaining to the accounts department about why accounting policy allowed for the reimbursement of some business expenses while disallowing others, nor moaning to the HR department over why it extends some benefits while excluding others, or to the PR department's decision to allow some forms of public comments but disallow employees to speak to public on others.

It strikes me, the main reason why discussion boards in general fill up with comments like 'the old guard of IT' and 'outdated approaches' and 'draconian prehistoric policies' is because hobbyists are enlightened enough about IT to know that something is possible, yet ignorant to the challenges, cost or risks of making it possible.

The world is full of wannabes, whether it is on the X Factor, YouTube, Big Brother or countless other examples - why should IT be any different?

But if you are truly shocked by the very real challenges that are encountered in every IT department across the country, don't complain - train to be an IT professional and help us change it.