Web Services

I thought that last weeks class lecture on web services was very interesting. The statement that we “don’t need coders instead we need application developers,” really made me think about how much the information technology industry is changing.

With the development of web services, information technology jobs will forever change. As the article,” Your Next IT Strategy,” stated CIO’s need to be negotiators and relationship managers. This means the command and control leadership style is fading. Just like the law department of a company, IT has always been viewed as a department that can possess control because others do not understand exactly what they do. This has led to IT having much control. However with this new strategy, I anticipate IT’s control to diminish. IT seems to be shifting away from its traditional role and in my opinion this will be beneficial. Other departments will have a better grasp as to what the IT department does. It will be easier to assess how well IT is performing and keep each aspect of the business in line. Therefore, I believe companies will benefit from this change.

IT Doesn't Matter

The discussion from class last week in regards to the article IT Doesn’t Matter brought up some very interesting points. One aspect of this article that stood out to me the most is that even if a company builds a proprietary system in regards to IT, it could easily be replaced. With the rapid advancements in technology, things are constantly changing. In effect, it creates a continuously evolving culture. Even if a company possesses a proprietary system one day, the very next day a new technology could come out that completely obliterates what the company has spent so much money creating. For example, AHS had a competitive advantage with its electronic ordering system, ASAP. However once personal computers and software arrived, AHS’s competitive advantage took a downturn. Therefore, I think it is crucial to be extremely cautious when spending large sums of money on new technological advancements. Companies should make sure they find the right technology for them. Rather than getting caught up in the whirlwind of technology, companies should make careful, cautious decisions and know that being the first to market is not always the best alternative. Sometimes it is better to wait and copy other applications, but with the intent on finding some missed opportunity in the market and making that application better than the competitor. Examples of companies that waited and were lucrative in making this decision are Dell and Wal Mart. Like Dr. Miller said in class last week, it is not the technology that always provides the competitive advantage it is the talent of the people who are innovative enough to come up with ways to improve technologies in order to keep up with current trends. Just because a company has created a fascinating new application that has helped it gain market share does not mean it can stop and just reap the benefits. This company needs talented people who are constantly thinking of ways to improve this application in order to maintain its competitive advantage.

Thus companies really need to think about their decisions when it comes to IT. They must make sure they make the right decisions for their company and they do not get caught up in keeping up with the Jones’. This will help reduce wasteful costs and make IT more valuable.

Developer Competency Questionnaire

1a)
I authored a Microsoft Word Document that was 30 pages. It was for a project and was not team-based.

1b)
I have used excel extensively for work projects. I have used such formulas as v-lookup, min/max, right/left, etc. I used excel both for team-based and individual work.

For personal use, I use excel for budgets, etc.

1c)
I have not developed a database system.

1d)
I did create a website when I took a computer science class in college. I took the computer science class more than 2 years ago though.

1e)
None in the past two years.

2a) 4

2b) 3

3a) 7

3b) 6

3c) 2

3d) 4

3e) JAVA - I took a computer science class in college and towards the end of the semester we started learning JAVA. I took the computer science class more than 2 years ago though.

AR Technology used for educational purposes

Augmented Reality Technology has been used in the past in general ways such as allowing doctors to perform surgeries on their patients from another city. However, Augmented Reality Technology is now being used to help educate students. Today students at The Georgia Institute of Technology are trying to use this technology to create reenactments of past events that occurred in history. The hopes are to recreate such events as Martin Luther King, Jr. delivering a sermon so that those who use this technology actually feel like they witnessed this event occurring. This is accomplished through the use of headsets that allow lasers to paint images on your retina. They also use GPS systems to track where those with headsets are going so that you could go throughout Atlanta, visit various historical sites, and see reenactments of different historical events. Everything is timed perfectly to completely recreate events of history. Eventually the goal would be to recreate events in Atlanta occuring during the Civil War up to the Civil Rights movement. In addition, this technology could be used for tourists who are interested in learning about the history of various places they visit. For instance, one day a tourist could travel to the beaches at Normandy and watch the reenactment of the Allies invading France.

This technology will have phenomenal effects on how students are educated. They will know what it was like to experience different events throughout history which will enhance learning. This technology could also be used to determine what historical sites attract tourists. In conlusion, this technology will completely change the way we see the world.

From the article:
Is It Live or Is it AR?
By Jay David Bolter and Blair MacIntyre