I attended a QUT Faculty of Information Technology Alumni Event on the 27th of November where the guest speaker, Dr Luke O'Connor, addressed the topic, "Does IT Security Really Matter?"

The topic was a spin on the book, "Does IT Really Matter?"

While the crux of the point is still, "YES", the exploration of the topic asks "How much does it matter and to whom?" with the thesis being that while IT is a fundamental requirement, it isn't a strategic enabler.

Unsurprisingly, I come from the camp that suggests IT is a strategic enabler, but for this discussion, we can leave Google, Dell, and the whole Financial sector out of the equation.

I took away a couple of important reminders for those of us who work in IT:

• Excel versus FUD (Fear Uncertainty and Doubt).  The IT industry pedals a fair degree of FUD in the hope of making more sales, but as business people have become accustomed to that, they are now looking for us to present the data (hence Excel) to support our claims.  In fact, we can forget the claims and just present the data, and they'll be happy.  While, we can go a long way towards improving the data in our selling (ROARZ included), I thought this was particularly interesting in light of how we educate our students of IT.  We give them a range of high quality IT skills, but we don't necessarily educate them on how to get the data that evidences the value underlying what they do.
• A good point was raised on sexism and IT.  It was argued that we're missing one key dimension in the Male versus Female aspect of IT, and that is Nerds.  It was asserted that the majority of what we talk about (see FUD above) is actually only attractive to Nerds, and that our job in promoting our industry is not just to attract the Women BUT THE MEN AS WELL!  To attract "non-nerd" Men and Women, we need to talk more Excel and less FUD.
• Another excellent point was raised on "The Explanation is Mightier than the Action".  Now, one might think (I did), that Actions Speak Louder Than Words, but it was pointed out that this is only true if the action is able to be seen.  Much of what we do in IT is virtual or hidden, and thus, our "grand" actions go entirely unnoticed.  Thus, a challenge for IT people in the Excel vs FUD age is to hone our skills in explaining why the "hidden" action was so important.  Again, both in industry and university, we probably don't do enough to educate ourselves in the art of professional communication.

I found it a very thought provoking evening that left me with some opportunities to explore in how we improve the way we demonstrate our value to our customers.

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