This week was not a pleasant one. My father was in the hospital until Friday (he is now home recovering from surgery), many different projects escalated to priority status simultaneously, and the kicker to this week was that as of Friday evening my home has been without power due to a severe storm knocking out power lines. Sometimes the road gets a little bumpy, but for this week it seems that the road was paved with thumbtacks and I was running bare footed.
It happens. Bad weeks where everything seems misaligned and free time evaporates away like morning dew in the desert are going to occur. What you do with these bad weeks is what makes all of the difference in life.
And I learned from this week. I observed how every aspect of my life and the lives of others are influenced by IT.
With every visit to the hospital I saw nurses using digital devices to monitor the blood pressure, heart rate, and body temperature of my father. My father had access to services with just the push of a button, a personal phone line, and even movies. His patient records were all kept on tablets and in computer files or databases. His home treatment plan was made available to him via a web portal. At no point during his hospital was the presence of an IT solution absent.
All of those various projects that escalated simultaneously? Not a single one of those clients would be classified as an IT company. Yet each of them had IT needs that could not wait. They needed IT solutions, and they will need even more as their non-IT businesses continue to acquire new customers that demand more and more features and services that will be delivered by IT.
Last, and certainly not least, when you are without full power you realize just how dependent upon IT you are for your everyday routines. I access my workout program via a web site. My smartphone is the only access that I have to the Internet as it provides a wireless hotspot for my laptop. The Internet is the most effective way for me to keep up-to-date on the blackout situation. My gas generator is being used to run only the essentials right now, and some of those essentials are my IT resources.
I hear people claim that their business does not need IT. This makes me question if they know what their business needs at all. IT is everywhere we turn in our modern society. It makes our lives easier, it addresses our needs faster, and it even helps to extend our lives with its improvements.
That is why I love being an IT professional! I know that no matter what happens that I am needed. I am someone of value, because I help others unlock the value of IT.
Knowing that helps to make a bad week better. Now if only my power would come back on. 