That means networking administrators rarely talk to database gurus, who rarely talk to desktop support people, who rarely talk to storage administrators. When new initiatives, such as a sales-force or manufacturing application, come up that will make special demands on the network, database, desktops and storage, task forces usually are created to figure out what IT needs to do.
The networking representative comes up with a networking plan, the database admin figures what's needed on her end, and eventually a strategy is formed and the new application is fielded. Meanwhile, the representatives on this task force still have full-time jobs to do, so they figure out how to manage their time and meet both commitments.
This is the process that has spawned the unresponsive IT departments we hear so much grousing about today. And vendors have compounded the problem by giving various fiefdoms exactly what they've asked for--point tools that let IT groups effectively manage their unique resources without concern for, or knowledge of, the big picture.
Of course, on a day-to-day basis, these point-management tools are the ones that actually work and let IT experts do their jobs. However, with all the people inside IT using different tools, and different performance metrics to measure success, the likelihood of rolling it all up into a responsive organization that can measure performance based on business metrics is about equal to the proverbial snowball's chance in hell. The track records of broad-perspective management tools have been notoriously bad.
Note to vendors: If you really want to deliver on utility computing, create some truly useful broad-based management tools.
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