[Interface, September 1992, Column #5]

Le Club Macintosh de MontrƯal
Publication: InterFace
Issue: September 1992
Author: John Markle
Series: NeXTdirections
Title: THINK Again, MIS
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NeXTdirections
Reflections on programming the NeXT computer
by John Vincent Markle

THINK Again, MIS


In the "good old days" of not too long ago, most companies had doting attendants in white coats buzzing around a giant mainframe situated like a queen bee in a glass-walled, temperature-controlled hive. The only way an ordinary mortal could talk to this queen was by using a "dumb" terminal and by speaking in toungues conceived by the data-processing department..
Most data-processing managers had a big THINK sign prominently displayed on their desks, a gift from IBM to each company that bought or leased one of their mainframes. The sign carried an onimous message to both subordinates and senior management: I am a priest of the cult of the machine and I know best how to control it.  In most cases, senior management let these information officers have complete control of technological matters and, as a natural result, their data-processing staff and equipment costs grew dramatically.

Over time, as their impact within the corporation grew, data-processing systems were renamed as management information systems. However, the newly-titled MIS managers continued to pontificate and intimidate senior management in computer-related matters. A recent Ernst & Young study found that although American banks had invested $200 billion in technology since the 1960s (roughly equal to their capital), they still have to struggle to adapt their computer systems to automate more customer services and deliver information more easily.
But things have changed a lot in the last ten years or so, due to increased corporate competition and to the proliferation of personal computers and workstations. IBM has been taking quite a beating in the marketplace, and a lot of MIS departments have blood on the floor as well. In an article entitled Whose computer is this, anyway? in the Wall Street Journal of April 6th, 1992, Paul B. Carrol cites other interesting facts gleened from recent surveys:

* While data-processing executives profess to know their mandate, their 	objectives rarely match those given by their companies' top executives 	(multiple surveys);

* The biggest problem of data-processing operations is matching their plans 	with their companies' broader business goals (CSC Index);

* 76% of data-processing managers thought senior management was 	becoming more technologically savvy, and 70% thought senior management's 	role in technology decisions was increasing (Forrester Research Inc.);

* While only 4% of the people who currently use personal computers in big 	corporations do substantial programming of their own equipment, within five 	years that proportion will increase five-fold to 20% (Forrester Research Inc.); 	and,

* 36% of information officers surveyed had predecessors who had been fired or demoted (Deloitte & Touche).

In spite of the fact that computer technology becomes more complex year after year, the current trend in many corporations is to leave the related purchasing decisions in the hands of those departments which will ultimately use the equipment. Many of these departments are getting their own programmers as well. Hence, the data processing managers in these companies are losing their influence and power, and more are being relegated to the role of systems integrators and communications facilitators.

Within this new reality, the choice of the NeXT computer represents a very wise decision. Using Interface Builder, departmental programmers can prototype new applications in very short order and thereby accelerate the development process to fit within a reasonable time frame. Training costs are minimized, and the resulting applications can be easily expanded in the future. More and more American companies are therefore going the NeXT route. Canadian companies, however, are not as astute.

If I were a MIS manager facing these disruptive pressures, I would definitely take the initiative and become the leading NeXT advocate within the corporation. Although it might appear as heresy in the short term, in the long term it would not only secure my job but also would reinforce my power base and influence within the company. It would also make my company much more flexible within an increasingly competitive environment. Therefore, THINK again MIS!