Snap Poll: Share Your Thoughts on the Future of the IT Pro

As we draw closer to Microsoft Ignite in Chicago the first week in May, the first wave of presentation drafts have been submitted, and peer reviews are underway. As some of you know, I have been asked to present a session called Strategically Evolve Your Role as an IT Pro. And more than 2 or 3 of you have asked “Why you?” Great question. Funny enough, the tagline of my blog for many years was “Marketing guy surrounded by engineers” as my undergrad was in marketing, and I have an MBA in technology management. While I have spent the vast majority of my career in engineering organizations, including product and program management roles, an IT Pro I am not. However, I do like to think of myself as something of an industry analyst and commentator, of sorts. If you follow any of my activities, you know I write and speak on the topic extensively, and host monthly webinars and tweetjams that touch on similar subject matter. So in the case of this Ignite topic, I’m really playing the role of moderator and commentator, more or less.

And while I’ll share a few opinion of my own on the topic, I’m really trying to incorporate the feedback of real IT Pros into my presentation, interviewing friends and colleagues, reaching out to my broad network of contacts for quotes and feedback, and now reaching out to you – the community – for your input.

To give you a better perspective on my session, here is the abstract:

The traditional tasks of the IT professional role centered around configuration and administration. Going forward, one must evolve to meet the rapidly changing technology landscape, where public and private cloud, mobile, and hybrid options come into play. IT pros, today, require skill expansion on top of core infrastructure management capabilities, including technology advisory, business analysis, technical and business support, and evangelism functions. In a Microsoft environment, the IT pro role does not go away – it becomes even more essential. In this session, we discuss the transformation of the IT pro, outline some of the new opportunities, and provide much needed perspectives for businesses and individuals to prepare for the future.

Now, having read that, I’d love to have you answer 5 quick questions and provide your perspective on the future of the IT Pro role:

If you feel this survey does not provide enough space for your opinion on this topic, feel free to comment below – or drop me a direct line at cbuck@gtconsult.com