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The Great Technical Disconnect
2010-10-21 17:26:15Shortcut URL: http://t.conquent.com/sB00
Got a message from a client today. Well, it wasn't actually from my client, it was from someone else in his office who wanted to chat about the "platform the website is built on." Now, bear in mind, I've been working with these people since... 1999? 2000? I'm not sure exactly, but it's been a longggg time in Internet years.
Turns out the Marketing Director doesn't really like the website (which one, I'm not sure, we've done four for them). She figures she can handle managing the website, after all it's a part of company communications and why does she need some geeky tech guy?
Well, let's see... it's an ecommerce site that ties directly into their backend warehouse management. They host their own servers so any changes are going to involve the geeky tech guy. They have FOUR websites, all of which share a database backend for content management. Oh, and they have someone in the company who is assigned to handling this, so just common business sense says to start there before calling the vendor.
But this is what I struggle with every single day. The "web" isn't just some pretty pictures on a computer. There are a whole slew of infrastructure issues that, honestly, might be a little more complicated than, "I think the site looks a little dated."
Yes, the site might look a little dated, and I'm first in line to tell clients that they can't have something that just functions but doesn't fulfill the promise of the brand. The problem is that corporate communications and corporate infrastructure people NEVER TALK and here they are sitting on the same stool.
I want to make some kind of proclamation saying, "This Must Stop Now." But I know that this isn't new -- operations and marketing have never talked, and new technologies are just amplifying the disconnect.
However, I do think that the time has come for a new Officer in the corporate structure. A Chief Interactive Officer who bridges marketing and technology, forms a plan that satisfies both, and keeps that plan on track.
Oh, and while I'm at it I want a pony.
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Kyra Weaver : Re: The Great Technical Disconnect
2010-10-21 18:40:00
"clutch ? ignition? what are those? btw give me the keys to your website because I can drive better than you." seriously, makes you want to throttle people.
Tracey Rovira Steele: Re: The Great Technical Disconnect
2010-10-21 18:41:01
Loved this. I deal with the marketing/operations struggle daily. My marketing guy brings me pretty page designs put together in Word...which are based on nothing that will ever work in reality. A favorite is how none of the key players can stand still long enough to do things right, so everything we work with is a patchwork quilt of effort by different vendors/friends/relatives who could give them something quickly. And then they wonder why a 2 MB image file looks like crap on an 80 inch banner...
Rebekah: Re: The Great Technical Disconnect
2010-10-25 11:15:53
Yep, that’s the truth alright. That’s exactly how it works.
But what happens if the IT guy is actually moonlighting? And what if he has just a few hours per week to give, hours that he gives to critical operations such as keeping the servers running?
And what happens if maybe, just maybe, we try to avoid Michael’s problem and err in the other direction? What if, to avoid his problem, we tie up the system so tight that the management won’t allow anything to get done until the IT guy has signed off on it? Thereby creating a clog in the system where people start to believe “all projects go to die.”
People get really, really upset.
Now add the people who are lined up screaming to get the IT guy’s attention, all mad that he hasn’t responded in weeks…or months…and now they just want someone’s head to roll because their own projects can’t get done and even more people are screaming at them.
Then what???
Be sure to see my blog over at Cloudenity. This week's topic: The Physical Impossibility of Migrating to the Cloud