We need to talk about this Cloud thing. And when I say talk, what I mean is, close the office door, press "do not disturb" on the phone, and close that Slashdot page.
Cloud is coming; maybe not in the way that the analysts think it is but there is very little chance that anyone in the IT sector will be unaffected by either Cloud concepts, or by the mis-selling of some other kind of product under a Cloud banner.
We're all professionals, whether permanent or contract. This means that we believe our role in a business has an agreed value, to the business, and to us: The way the Cloud bandwagon is rolling at the moment is let's not beat about the bush a direct threat to the careers of a very large swathe of the IT business.
The irony is, the people who fit this description most closely are currently snorting and chuckling derisively at my words. That's what they do: misplaced aloof derision is the stereotype of the IT worker. Cambridge professors ruefully admit how difficult it makes their industry outreach projects; sitcom writers make their living off it and there are whole sites whole galaxies of sites out there on the net that take that tone and run with it.
Let's not kid ourselves; if we are sat down beside a salesman in a white shirt with a bolt through the neck, and we have to make ourselves look more appealing, it is a hell of a job to win the day without sounding whiney, paranoid, and defensive. IT departments that play the yearly budget bloat game, mixed with an unhealthy dose of that derision thing, are sitting ducks when it comes to salesmen armed with the "C" word and access to board members who are just that bit extra tired, this week, of being talked down to.
