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The future of IT jobs? Not all bad news, Carr says

While some classic corporate IT jobs will vanish, new ones will emerge, industry visionary Nicholas Carr says
By Keith Shaw , Network World , 01/10/2008

Nicholas Carr, famous for his assertion that IT doesn't matter, explained himself to attendees of a recent live Network World Chat. While Carr contends that massive disruption is heading toward the IT job market, there is good news. IT is becoming increasingly important to the global economy which will create "rich opportunities" for those with the right IT skills, he says.

Moderator-Keith: Welcome and thank you for coming. Our guest today is industry visionary Nicholas Carr. Nick is author of several books including the 2004 title Does IT Matter? and the 2007 title The Big Switch: Rewiring the World from Edison to Google. Nick, thanks for being a guest.

Nick Carr: It's a pleasure to be here, and I look forward (I think) to the grilling.

Bret: In your book, Does IT Matter?, your premise is that IT (narrowly defined as the plumbing and pathways through which data is passed and or processed) no longer provides a competitive advantage and that IT will become a commodity provided by service providers. We are seeing the beginnings of this in my company. We have outsourced device monitoring and we are planning to contract device installation and wiring in our new data center. That said, over what period of time would you expect to see utility computing becoming the norm in industry?

Nick Carr: I think the shift will occur over the next decade or two. The speed will depend on who you are. Consumers are well on their way to relying on Web apps. Smaller companies will also likely move quickly to the utility model, as it allows them to avoid the big capital and labor costs of internal IT. Big companies will be the slowest to move - they'll pursue a hybrid model for many years.

JoeB: Who will be the first to adopt such a business model? Who will experience the most difficulty?

Nick Carr: On the business side, it will be small companies with fairly routine IT requirements. Large companies who face tight regulations on data and privacy - like those in the healthcare industry - face some of the biggest barriers.

Barmijo: Nick, many reviews of your book take issue with the idea of utility computing. They note that the big vendors don't offer anything approaching your vision. You, however, focus on Internet operators like Google and Amazon. Do you believe this shift has to start in the Internet, and if so why? 

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Comments (83)
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I think Carr's understandingBy Anonymous on January 24, 2008, 8:59 pmI think Carr's understanding of data security is "cloud"y at best.

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It all started with a dream of using a wireless mouseBy Anonymous on January 18, 2008, 4:48 pmMe thinks poor Nicholas Carr made a request for a wireless mouse 7 yrs ago and the mean ole IT department at his company turned him down on account of budget constraints...

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UnionizeBy Lax Coach on January 16, 2008, 11:27 amAsk the union worker on the car assembly lines how well the Union protects them in the face of industry shifts. The key is to enhance your skills so that regardless...

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Unionize now!!! IT workers union for our protection.By Anonymous on January 14, 2008, 1:07 pmThe IT executives and wall street get rich, the IT workers get screwed. Same old story. The only way to correct this travesty is to from worker/labor unions. It...

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Flawed analogyBy Anonymous on January 13, 2008, 11:22 amAnalogies can illuminate or mislead, depending on whether they are "apt" or bogus. Comparing electrical power to IT is ridiculous. Electrical power in the US...

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