This post is to no one person or organization in particular. It’s a commentary on the state of technology in business as a whole.
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2011
It’s now 2011…raise your hand if you are still working on a computer running Windows XP.
It was first released in 2001!!
You are officially now using software built a decade ago. A DECADE!
For a frame of reference, that’s the same year that the ORIGINAL iPod debuted.
Progress
Think about how much has changed in the last 3 years! Does it astound you? Because I feel like my finger is resting nicely on the pulse and I’m blown away by where we are.
There are those of us in this world that embrace change REALLY early. We call ourselves, and others call us, “early adopters.” This post is not to encourage you to be an early adopter. It takes a certain affinity for tinkering and malfunctions to be in the early adopters group. You have to really want what’s next to play with and understand it before everyone else.
Beyond the early adopters there are varying levels of acceptance of new technologies. Some are more behind than others.
Here’s the thing, at some point you have to get over your fears about incompatibility and the legacy systems that you are still supporting and embrace the future. I can video chat on my mobile phone and you are using an operating system built when computers had single core Pentium processors, 256 MB of RAM standard and a 20GB hard drive…AND A FLOPPY DRIVE!
IT departments seem to be continually stuck in the same paradigm that they were when IT departments started. The only progress that seems to be considered is to “upgrade” the office suite to Microsoft Office 2007. I put upgrade in quotes because it seems odd to me to upgrade to something 3-4 years old.
For the record, even as a Mac-head, I think Windows 7 is simply dynamite, so go get that!
A bonafide challenge
If you are in charge of technology for your company, “grow a [suitably large] pair” and push the envelope. Technology is advancing at an astounding pace and those who don’t catch up are bound to be left in the dust or scrambling to pick up the pieces later. If you are in charge, hold yourself accountable to educate your colleagues, hold yourself accountable to build the case for faster computers, newer operating systems and greater support. It won’t be easy to take that stand, but I’m here with you every step of the way…until you actually have to have those conversations, then I’ve got some other stuff to do, but good luck.
If you are not the one in charge but merely someone that must use the technologies provided, stand up, and ask for something better, something faster and a lesson in how to do something new.
If you saw how I used my computer on a daily basis, many of you would get dizzy and wonder how I do it. I have tools and I have enabled myself to use them, learn more and be capable of producing more. You should too.