From: Kelvin McGlynn, Business development manager, MET (Managed Enterprise Technologies)
Sir – It was with a smile that I read David Leach’s ‘Clouds forecast’ letter in the last edition of Housing Technology. While it was amusing, it was also thought provoking as the future role of the IT department is much debated.
To my mind, David was absolutely right that the role of the IT department will be one of driving transformation rather than being an out and out technical function.
The cloud may be becoming the delivery model of choice, but with it comes a whole host of management challenges.
With ‘portal madness’ creeping in, someone needs to work out how to deliver access in a joined-up, single manner for users. Someone needs to be able to measure the service that cloud providers deliver and hold them to account. Someone needs to assess the RoI for cloud services. Someone needs to manage the relationships with cloud providers. Someone needs to act as an interface between the providers and the business should there be any service issues.
In fact, someone needs to assess the quality of the services from the beginning. It seems clear to me that although the role of the IT department may be evolving, it will still be an essential function to the business.
So, it looks as though our friends and colleagues responsible for IT in housing will be busy for many years to come. Therefore my advice has to be ‘don’t cloud the issues’.
