Jonathan Sapir: Situational Application Platforms Threaten Smug Programmers
Jonathan takes a somewhat provocative approach to pointing out that cloud computing and situational applications are rendering “traditional” programmers obsolete at an increasing rate. Derrick Harris at GigaOm lays out a similar scenario for those on the IT infrastructure side of the house as cloud computing pervades mainstream Corporate America. Both of these posts remind me of something that I had written early last year, “Platform as a Service and the Implications for IT,” just prior to transforming our business to focus on SaaS design and strategy.
There are compelling arguments on both sides that innovative technologies either create jobs or eliminate them, but I don’t think the discussion is that cut and dried. What’s inevitable is that cloud computing will certainly change jobs, and I think the bigger point here is that if you are an IT professional, if you have not learned by now that you have to continuously stay on top of new technology and business innovations to maintain your place in the pecking order, you will inevitably be left behind. Sure you can sit back and hope that Black Swan events such as Y2K will come out of nowhere and suddenly make your 20-year-old programming skills a hot commodity, but the more prudent approach is to evolve with the times and stay relevant. Cloud computing is here, so those hoping it would just go away are in for a rude awakening.
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