COMPUTERWORLD

Sick and Tired of IT
Taking the Blame

I enjoyed Frank Hayes’ March 7 column, “Seven IT Lessons from the Collapse of Borders.” It was a great Monday morning wrap-up.

But I do take issue with one statement, where he says that “no one in I T was able to convince management to reinvent Expert.” Expert was Borders’ inventory management system, and Hayes points out that it was unable to scale as Borders grew.

Why is IT being made the scapegoat once again for C-level incompetence? I think that Expert’s shortcomings would have been pretty obvious. I can’t imagine that one needed an MBA to see how the system (and I’m not just talking about technology) was failing. Hayes seems to imply not only that I T staff were the only ones who could see the problem, but that I T was also the only one responsible. Really?

If the fall of Borders was IT’s fault, then what were the executives responsible for?

I’m growing tired of IT taking one for the team. And it’s one thing when Marketing and other departments pin one on IT. Let’s face it, they’re not going to admit any guilt themselves. But why is Frank Hayes reinforcing a myth and a stereotype?

Mark Simchock, chief alchemist, Alchemy United

492 Old Connecticut Path P.O. Box 9171 Framingham, MA 01701-9171 (508) 879-0700 Computerworld.com

iPad ‘Review’
Lacks Objectivity

“Apple’s iPad 2

Is the ‘Holy Grail’
of Computing”
[ Computerworld.com,
March 13] does not
meet the minimum
standards for critical
evaluation of a product, and the
writer at times sounds more like an
apologist for Apple than an objective
reviewer.
I am not an Apple-basher at all,
but I think that any product evalua-
tion should be objective and critical.

Seriously, would any “Holy Grail of computing” today lack a USB port?

Mark Pitcavage

JOIN IN!
You can comment
directly on our stories, at
computerworld.com.

Online

Do You Need a Tablet Policy?

Some I T shops have
formal enterprise
tablet deployment
strategies that
address everything from security to app
delivery and support. Does yours?
computerworld.com/s/article/9216208

Hosting Virtual Desktops

We take an in-depth look at what you need to know for a successful deployment.

computerworld.com/s/article/9216265

Find these stories at computerworld.com/more

Free Tools for Data Visualization and Analysis Got data? Here are 22 tools that can turn it into informative, engaging graphics. computerworld.com/s/article/9215504

Appliances Can
Speed Up Your
Web-Based Apps
INSIDER App delivery con-
trollers are a great way to
improve performance. But avoid overbuying,
and carefully consider which approach to take.

computerworld.com/s/article/9214785

» EDITORIAL Editor in Chief Scot Finnie

Executive Editors Mitch Betts, Julia King (events)

Managing Editors Michele Lee DeFilippo (production), Sharon Machlis (online), Ken Mingis (news)

Director of Blogs Joyce Carpenter

Art Director April Montgomery

Technologies Editor Johanna Ambrosio

Features Editors Valerie Potter, Ellen Fanning (special reports), Barbara Krasnoff (reviews)

News Editors Mike Bucken, Marian Prokop

Senior Editor Mike Barton

National Correspondents Julia King, Robert L. Mitchell

Reporters Sharon Gaudin, Matt Hamblen, Gregg Keizer, Lucas Mearian, Patrick Thibodeau, Jaikumar Vijayan

Assistant Managing Editor Bob Rawson (production)

Editorial Project Manager Mari Keefe

Senior Associate Online Editor Ken Gagné

Office Manager Linda Gorgone

Contributing Editors Jamie Eckle, Preston Gralla, Tracy Mayor

» CONTACTS

Phone numbers, email addresses and reporters’ beats are available online at Computerworld.com (see Contacts link at the bottom of the home page).

Letters to the Editor Send to letters@computerworld. com. Include an address and phone number for immediate verification. Letters will be edited for brevity and clarity.