草根IT客颠覆商用软件游戏规则

    因此，云端服务的支持者、ZDNet撰稿人菲尔•韦纳莱特不禁问道，未来企业是否还有必要设立IT部门？企业难道不能把软件选择权通过众包的方式下放给员工，然后把软件管理权外包通过云端服务的SaaS提供商吗？首席信息官们是不是已经到了该失业的时候？

    还没这么快。Wired.com的彼得•克莱兹曼写道，一旦草根IT成为常态，届时必须有人来确保不同软件的整体运转。很难想象除了一个合格的首席信息官之外，还有谁能胜任采集数据以及把数据与其它企业资源进行整合的任务，更不用说还得有人来处理数据安全性、以及遵守IT法律法规等问题。

    尽管如此，草根IT仍然会大大削弱CIO的角色。《首席信息官视点》（CIO Insight）的撰稿人马克•席勒指出，其实哪个首席信息官都不想当“首席安装官”，通过软件发放和升级来束缚员工的双手。如果首席信息官们从软件选择和维护任务中解放出来，就可以把更多的时间花在高级需求上，也就是“管理、保护、提高和利用企业的信息资产”。

    目前，一些最佳的IT众包解决方案存在于社交媒体领域。虽然全球估计已经有14.3亿人用上了社交媒体，但它在职场中只是刚刚开始。换句话说，普通员工们已经了解了私人社交网络的力量，因此他们最有可能把新的社交工具引进到企业中，用来联系业务和客户，推进内部生产力。比如Yammer和HootSuite这两个社交应用在正式被首席信息官们采用之前，也是通过“草根IT”在职场中流行开的。HooSuite是一家社交媒体管理系统公司——也就是我的公司。

    从这点来看，草根IT和软件众包解决方案并不是首席信息官的敌人，而是有可能实现他们和员工的双赢。员工可以有机会选择直观易用的软件，让自己的工作变得更轻松。与此同时，“软件即服务”解决方案使首席信息官们从维护服务器、管理软件升级等单调的任务中解脱出来，同时在摆脱了过去那种专制的软件选择流程之后，首席信息官们也可以在企业内承担一个业务性更强的角色。

    归根到底，草根IT可能才是一条唯一行得通的道路。

    本文作者瑞恩•霍尔默斯是社交媒体管理系统公司HootSuite的CEO。他的公司拥有近500万名用户，包括79家《财富》100强企业。他的日常工作就是与Facebook、Twitter、LinkedIn等全球大型社交网络打交道，因而对社交媒体与大企业的交集方面有独特的视角。

    译者：朴成奎

    So do we even need an IT department anymore, asks cloud-booster Phil Wainewright in ZDNet. Can't companies just crowdsource their software decisions and leave software management to SaaS providers in the cloud? Is it time for the CIO to go?

    Not so fast. Once rogue IT goes legit, someone has to be there to do the hard work of making sure the different pieces fit together, writes Peter Kretzman in Wired. It's hard to imagine anyone but a capable CIO handling the nitty-gritty of collecting and integrating data with other corporate resources, not to mention tackling data security and regulatory compliance issues.

    Still, rogue IT does promise to considerably streamline the CIO's role. Marc Schiller of CIO Insight points out that the CIO was never intended to be a chief implementation officer, holding employees' hands through software rollouts and upgrades. Freed from software selection and maintenance, CIOs can invest more time on higher level needs, namely "managing, securing, enhancing and leveraging the organization's information assets."

    Currently, some of the best crowdsourced IT solutions are in the arena of social media. While used by an estimated 1.43 billion people worldwide, social media has only begun to be tapped in the workplace. In other words, ordinary employees - who already know the power of personal social networks - are likeliest to introduce new social tools that connect businesses and clients and boost internal productivity. Yammer and HootSuite are two examples of social apps that often start their lives as rogue IT before being officially embraced by CIOs who see their benefit to the bottom line (Disclosure: HootSuite, a social media management system, is my company).

    In this light, rogue IT and crowdsourced software decisions become less an enemy within than a potential win-win. Employees get a voice in choosing intuitive, user-friendly software that lets them do their jobs better. Meanwhile, CIOs - freed from an autocratic selection process, liberated by SaaS from the tedium of maintaining servers and monitoring upgrades - assume a far more business-forward role within the company.

    In the end, going rogue may be the only way to go.

    Ryan Holmes is the CEO of HootSuite, a social media management system with nearly five million users, including 79 of the Fortune 100 companies. In the trenches everyday with Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and the world's largest social networks, Holmes has a unique view on the intersection of social media and big business.