Mathias On Mobility: Why IT Should Buy More

Buying stuff that makes the operating side more efficient can convert operating expenses into capital expenses. In the past few years, especially in wireless, improved network management systems, spectral analysis and assurance capabilities (being rolled out by a good number of wireless-LAN vendors now), self-service portals for enabling access by new mobile devices and mobile device management and mobile policy management systems have enabled lower operating cost via improved productivity.

We'll never eliminate the help desk, but we can, through increasing amounts of automation and proactive analysis, create an environment where the need for these services is minimized. Plus, as everyone spends more time working and less time wondering what went wrong and waiting for it to be fixed, user productivity grows. And it’s the productivity of users that justifies all the expense of IT to begin with.

IT is indeed a cost center, but efficient and reliable operations minimize cost and maximize ROI -- return on information. Next year won’t bring any radical change in thinking, but profiting from advances in technology as embodied in new capital expenditures will be a key strategy going forward. That's true across IT, but in particular, the shift to mobile operations provides IT with just the opportunity it needs to prosper even as budget pressure mounts.

Cutting costs may be the new normal, but with the right innovations, it’s not all that bad. In fact, it’s better than ever.

Craig Mathias is a Principal with Farpoint Group, a wireless and mobile advisory firm based in Ashland, MA. Craig is an internationally recognized expert on wireless communications and mobile computing technologies. He is a well-known industry analyst and frequent speaker at industry conferences and trade shows.