Network Computingwww.networkcomputing.com

I won't be catching anyone by surprise when I say the economy sucks right now--and in the technology space, it's been that way for a long time. The days of leaving one job and having three other job offers already in your pocket are history. They have been replaced with days of lean, mean budgets and decreased staff. The dot-bomb left hundreds of square feet vacant in the greater Boston area, as it did many other parts of the country.

My friends in the IT space tell me things are looking a little better. Some even say they can see the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. I'd like to agree with them, but I still see all those damn empty parking spots. What happened to those people? They must be working somewhere, right? And what about all those leased Porsche Boxsters and Z3s--that is, the cars that filled those spots once upon a time? Of one thing I am certain: None of them are parked in my garage.

This Lot Full

To make sure you get to continue parking your car in the office lot everyday, we offer the first special issue of the Network Computing IT Agenda series: "Everything You Wanted To Know About the Business of IT ... But Were Afraid To Ask." The title may remind some of us older folk of a book that caused quite a stir a few decades ago. It's a book that, on more than a few occasions, I tried to sneak a peek at while in the bookstore. And, as I tried my best not to be noticed, every passerby offered me that distinctly adult "raised eyebrow" look.

But if this issue raises an eyebrow or two, the reasons won't be the same as for its namesake (unless, of course, I happened to miss a few things while reading these articles). We want you to walk away from this issue with a few new ideas about how to improve your business and, most important, provide you with real strategies and methodologies that can be used to improve your organization. That's the main goal of our four-part IT Agenda series--to give you the information you need to become more strategic and ultimately, more valuable to your company.

It would have been easy for us just to say, "Hey! We're helping our readers," and to feel darn good about ourselves. Many publications have claimed that they try to teach and assist their readers in dealing with new areas of business. But in experience, those articles in other magazines are like rice cakes. You know the feeling: You just spent five minutes eating, and you're every bit as hungry as you were before you started.

I'm sure other publications have good intentions, but there's a key difference between what they do and what Network Computing does. We strive to provide editorial content that is written to IT professionals and by IT professionals--and to do it in a manner that is authoritative and direct. Why pull punches when we're trying to solve problems? We prefer to attack them head on and get them solved, just as you do every day. We are the only publication that has this peer-level relationship with its readers. We've been there, in your shoes, down in the IT trenches.

The true test will be how valuable you find this issue and its contents. I believe the pages ahead make for a hearty meal, but let me know if you think there's a rice cake or two in there.

And Now, I Proudly Present Dr. Evil

This peer relationship is key for us here at Network Computing. We've built the magazine and the editorial staff around a basic principle: Whenever possible, we get the IT pros to do all the work, because there's little credibility in our authoritative stance if we don't have the experience to back it up. This philosophy is in full effect for this special issue in the form of the main author and chief architect, Jonathan Feldman--or Dr. Evil to those who have been lucky enough to see his impersonation.

I'm sure many of you have read pieces by Jonathan in the past--Sneak Previews, product reviews or his column. Jonathan never fails to stir up the muck in his columns, but he's always spot-on with his analysis. I'm sure that's because, in addition to working his butt off for this magazine, he has a real job working in your world, in information technology. There is no substitute for experience, and Jonathan has a knack for translating his experience into worthwhile reading.

I'm singling Jonathan out here because he is overseeing the construction of each special issue in the IT Agenda series. I got lucky, caught him in a weak moment and convinced him to see these pieces through from idea generation to publication. This is no easy task, even for a seasoned veteran.

I'll leave it to him to share the chaos that goes into putting these issues together, which in my mind is not really all that different from trying to get an IT project done with zero dollars in your budget and a hellacious time line. I personally want to say, great job, Jonathan, and thank you.

20/20 Vision

I figure it's only fair that I tell you about the ultimate goal of these special issues. It's the deep dark secret or grandiose plan that sent us down this IT Agenda path from the get-go. We're dedicating entire issues to the concept of IT as it relates to business because we want to help make you a visionary and an enabler within your organization. What does that mean? In my mind, it means you have a unique opportunity to use your experience and technological abilities to break down the false perception of IT as being strictly a support organization and to help you drive projects in areas IT had never gone before.

We want you to venture out into the various other business units that make up your organization and see how they use technology. Find out how the things you create and support within IT actually make the business run--then figure out a way to make things better. You can--and should--improve the way technology gets used so that users are more productive, more efficient, more successful at their jobs, which, in the end, makes the organization better, too.

But before you ride off to become white knights for the rest of your organizations, go with the old saying, "Charity begins at home." We planned our IT Agenda series this year to help you off-load some of the daily, operational workload and use the found time for strategic initiatives.

When I was working in IT, my only wish was for an extra hour here or there, so I'd have time to sit and think about big-picture stuff: staffing, new initiatives, future technology trends, whatever. Some people outside of IT may say, "Well, just put in a few extra hours." But when you're already working 50 to 60 hours a week, there are only so many extra hours to go around.

Because we know you don't want to postpone your social life until retirement or forget your kids' names, we figure you're better off streamlining your current workload. Just be sure your boss doesn't find out you have a little extra time on your hands--I'm willing to bet a CxO has a few "pet projects" that need an owner.

It's a long road to becoming that visionary within your organization. But we here at Network Computing feel it's time to start the journey, to change the way technology and business work--or rather don't work--together. Other publications may say they can take you down that path, too, but the key difference in taking the trip with us is that we won't lead you down the path; we'll actually trudge right along with you.