Why we have the latest toys

I'm a very fortunate person. God has given me many gifts and I am able to use them daily in my chosen field of employment. And man am I lucky that my field has some neat toys!!

I have never met an IT guy that wasn't a gadget guy (I'm sure they're out there but probably shouldn't be). I have a huge appreciation for breakthrough technologies and how they get applied to daily life and business. Personal computers revolutionized the way work gets done. Cell phones revolutionized the pace at which business occurs. The internet revolutionized communication, purchasing, the transfer of knowledge and information, and the way we approach and do business. Smartphones revolutionized who has access to information at any given moment. Social networking revolutionized how we maintain contact with people. All of these things absolutely blow my mind and I get to live and work with it every day.

So there's the "Oh man, that's so cool I can't believe I can do that!!!" side of gadgets, but there's also the "Oh man, that's so cool but what will it do to the network and what vulnerabilities does it open up to the company" side of gadgets. It's almost impossible for us to figure out the dangers of a technology (or the usefulness of a technology) if we don't get to experience and play with it hands on. An example that's going on right now in my company is smart phones. We proved the usefulness of Blackberries but now we have people desiring iPhones and Android phones. I have to understand them and work with them before I can effectively implement them. Also, I'm the first person someone comes to when they have a problem with the technology. How can I help my customer if I've never used the device before?

Since I am so immersed in technology I also have the ability to bridge the gap between technology and business. Maybe I see a gadget on the internet and can visualize a use for it at my company. Before we buy one for every employee, someone needs to experience the product and try to fit it into their daily workflow. Who better to do this than the IT guy (who also needs to know how to fix it if we do happen to buy everybody in the company one)?