Cringley is asking a very lucid question that more people in the upper-echelons of business today should be asking: "What Does Gartner Really Do?" Leaving aside the fact that I agree completely with the author's derision of these research firms' "real function being to provide $2 billion worth of IT management CYA per year", A couple of points got me thinking.
First there's this:
"How often do these consultants tell their customers that everything is fine and no action is required? Almost never. In fact I'm tempted to say "absolutely never" simply because I haven't heard of such an instance, but I'm playing it safe here."
The consultants he is referring to are the research firm analysts. There are a lot of good I.T. Consultants out there doing good work and providing a valuable service by, at times, preventing their cilents from spending money they shouldn't on the latest and greatest buzz-word technology. I can say absolutely that I have indeed told clients NOT to spend money on things they don't need and won't or can't use. (I'm a flawed consultant, driven by the ideal of helping clients rather than increasing my own sales. That's probably why I don't work for any consulting firm but my own.)
But the bigger issue is one of professionalism. Cringely is right that many I.T. workers are clueless about the technology they're working with. There is no professional standard (no, A+ certification doesn't count here) and no independent, credible organization conferring a professional accreditation to I.T. pros. Unless you have a masters degree or better in Computer Science and/or engineering, there's no way to measure your skill set against any other. Most business leaders would be amazed to learn how many people with the title CIO or CTO can't keep their VCR clock from blinking 12:00 continuously. (Be even more frightened that in 2008 CIO's and CTO's still even HAVE VCR's in their homes!)
Which brings up the question of just what measurable qualifications could and should be included to provide an I.T. professional with quantifiable recognition such as medical doctors and Certified Public Accountants. If we came up with that list, updated on an annual basis to stay current with the latest technology, rest assured that the only people qualifying would not be the types who look good for the photos included in the glossy annual report.
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