I just returned from the annual Nonprofit Technology Conference (NTC), which took place in Minneapolis from April 11-13.  It was a wonderful experience  and I had the privilege of presenting at a session on the future of IT.  If you are interested, you can watch the session online.

Johan Hammerstrom at NTC2013I will also be starting a blog series on this topic which will include links to interviews and articles I quoted in my presentation.  More than anything else, I am hoping to start a dialogue with other professionals working in non-profit technology.  I heard some fantastic stories at the NTEN and I am always amazed and impressed by the creativity and resourcefulness of our sector.

Where is this all going?

The subtitle “Where is this all going?” reflects my feeling that we are in the midst of an unprecedented time of change with regards to IT. Having worked with technology for almost 15 years, I am amazed by the dramatic nature of today’s changing technology.  This series not about predicting the future, as much as trying to understand the trends and some of the basic factors behind all of these changes.

Consumer Driven IT

In my opinion, the defining feature of IT at this moment is the Consumer. Or, more accurately, the profound impact of Consumer-driven and Consumer-focused technology. For the first time in a long time, the end-user is now at the forefront of leading edge technology and the enterprise, the organization, is struggling to catch up.
The undisputed leader of this revolution, some would even say catalyst also happens to be most successful technology company in the world today; and Apple’s success is both a direct result of the move towards the Consumer, as well as a chief instigator of the change.
In his Dec 2012 interview with Business Week, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that Steve Jobs was betting the company on Consumer all the way back in 1999. This was a long-term strategy, and it was also grounded in Steve Jobs’ lifetime vision regarding technology.
It ended up revolutionizing both Apple and the entire technology industry.
Next post: I’ll discuss some of the specifics behind Apple’s success in the consumer space and what that tells us about the larger consumer-driven trends.
o LiveStream
o Business Week Interview
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Future of IT Series

Part 1: Where is this all going?
Part 2: Consumer Driven IT
Part 3: Enterprise Driven IT
Part 4: BYOD
Part 5: Game Changers