What is Information Technology

IT stands for Information Technology. It is simple pronounce IT, the two separate letters. In most organizations it is the computer department. The place where all the geeks gather to hunch over clicking keyboards to get the computer to do some wonderful new trick. That is what people imagine. In fact the IT departments are one of the key elements in today's technology. Without IT departments, there would be many items we commonly take for granted no longer available to us.

IT departments are responsible for every banking system in the world today. It was the IT departments who first made it possible for online banking. It was the IT department who came up with computer software designed to allow the use of debit and credit cards. Lending institutions and finance companies who depend on amortization calculators would have to go back to figuring by hand with out the use of the programs developed by IT departments.

In short, if a computer generated the program for the device or system you are using, it was an IT department somewhere who designed it. Thus was born the business analyst. The business analyst may or may not have been from the IT department. He or she may not be able to write code. They do know the intricacies behind it. They are the ones able to speak with others to determine what the IT department should be doing.

The system works something like this. The stakeholder, someone in business or with a business interest, has an idea he or she thinks may sell or make the business more money. The idea may only generate an easier way of doing things. Faster production means less man hours. Less man hours means less payroll. Less payroll means more money for the company to spend somewhere else. The problem came when the stakeholder tried to explain what he or she wanted from the IT department. The IT department caught on to the general concept and designed an application for the program. The stakeholder found he could not use the code. Enter the business analyst.

The business analyst will listen to the stakeholder. He or she will evaluate the situation to determine if the needs of the stakeholder are viable. The business analyst can determine if other items are necessary for the stakeholder and the end user to be happy. When it is determined exactly what the stakeholder needs, the business analyst will speak with the IT department. The IT department will be off and running.

The IT department in many companies have developed amazing things. You just never know what an IT department has done for you until you stop and think about it. Processors run on code. Tiny processors are used for many things we use in everyday life. Cell phones and cordless phones are two things everyone uses. Bluetooth technology was developed by a team of IT specialists. The computers in the vehicle you drive are running code an IT department somewhere developed.

When someone mentions the IT department, it should be done with respect. Almost any electronic device or system run with a computer code would not be functioning if it were not for the IT department.