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Call for Papers

Below is the call for papers for the upcoming Cutter IT Journal issue Is IT Relevant Anymore? guest edited by Israel Gat.

Is IT Relevant Anymore?

Where is IT headed these days? With technology at the core of everything we do, and “traditional web” software moving on to mobile devices faster than one can say “mobile”, does this make the need for a fully-staffed IT department less critical? What is/will be the role of IT in our technology-driven era? How will IT attain a cross-departmental competitive edge?

One prediction is that the typical in-house IT department will go up in the value chain, combining its expertise with the domain expertise of the CMO, COO, CFO, etc. IT will no longer be heads-down, technology- and operations-only focused, but will be collaborating with the business side at a higher level than done so far to help various departments make sound technology decisions in conjunction with a new breed of service providers.

Another direction IT could take is governing the contractual performance of an Amazon AWS-type service. For example, IT will no longer be fork-lifting a server to (say) replace it with a bigger server. Rather, IT will primarily be developing the contracts with, and supervising the overall performance and service level agreements of those (at, say AWS) who will be doing the actual fork-lifting, or its metaphorical provisioning equivalent.

In other words, the current IT professional might be headed in a few different directions. One might be to remain in a development/operations capacity, another might be in a management/technology/business decision-making role, while another might be in a more consultative capacity.

Or is there another direction IT will take? An upcoming issue of Cutter IT Journal will provide insight into the future of IT and its new role in the enterprise.

Topics may include (but are not limited to the following):

  • Are we moving towards an enterprise IT-as-a-Service model?
  • How can IT sustain its competitive edge in the coming years?
  • Will IT remain part of a centralized IT department, or be spread out to the various business units?
  • In what way(s) is the IT budget likely to change?
  • What new technologies/services will determine the role of the IT professional?
  • How will the role of the IT manager/developer/programmer change?
  • What can an IT professional do now to prepare for the changes ahead?
  • Is a shift towards mega data centers preordained?
  • Will we see an increase in domestic outsourcing and reshoring?

TO SUBMIT AN ARTICLE IDEA

Please respond to Israel Gat, at igat[at]cutter[dot]com, with a copy to itjournal[at]cutter[dot]com, no later than 10 May 2013 and include an extended abstract and a short article outline showing major discussion points.

ARTICLE DEADLINE

Accepted articles are due by 14 June 2013.

EDITORIAL GUIDELINES

Most Cutter IT Journal articles are approximately 2,500-3,500 words long, plus whatever graphics are appropriate. If you have any other questions, please do not hesitate to contact CITJ's Group Publisher, Christine Generali at cgenerali[at]cutter[dot]com or the Guest Editor, Israel Gat at ilenia[dot]fronza[at]unibz[dot]it. See the editorial guidelines.

Important Note: When you submit an article to Cutter Consortium, you warrant that you (or your employer) are the sole owner of the article and that you have full power and authority to copyright it and publish it. Also, the article you submit to Cutter must be an original; not previously published elsewhere.

AUDIENCE

Typical readers of Cutter IT Journal range from CIOs and vice presidents of software organizations to IT managers, directors, project leaders, and very senior technical staff. Most work in fairly large organizations: Fortune 500 IT shops, large computer vendors (IBM, HP, etc.), and government agencies. 48% of our readership is outside of the US (15% from Canada, 14% Europe, 5% Australia/NZ, 14% elsewhere). Please avoid introductory-level, tutorial coverage of a topic. Assume you're writing for someone who has been in the industry for 10 to 20 years, is very busy, and very impatient. Assume he or she will be asking, "What's the point? What do I do with this information?" Apply the "So what?" test to everything you write.

PROMOTIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

We are pleased to offer Journal authors a year's complimentary subscription and five copies of the issue in which they are published. In addition, we occasionally pull excerpts, along with the author's bio, to include in our weekly Cutter Edge e-mail bulletin, which reaches another 8,000 readers. We'd also be pleased to quote you, or passages from your article, in Cutter press releases. If you plan to be speaking at industry conferences, we can arrange to make copies of your article or the entire issue available for attendees of those speaking engagements -- furthering your own promotional efforts.

ABOUT CUTTER IT JOURNAL

No other journal brings together so many cutting-edge thinkers, and lets them speak so bluntly and frankly. We strive to maintain the Journal's reputation as the "Harvard Business Review of IT." Our goal is to present well-grounded opinion (based on real, accountable experiences), research, and animated debate about each topic the Journal explores.

PLEASE FORWARD THIS CALL FOR PAPERS TO ANYONE WHO MIGHT HAVE AN APPROPRIATE SUBMISSION.

Is IT Relevant Anymore?