from The Executive Software Team

It's late at night.  You're staring at the system console monitor, trying to
balance the load over a network within your company so that the addition of
that new application your bosses have been drooling over won't bring the
system to its knees. 

It's nothing new.  You've been doing it for years.  Sweating, tweaking,
implementing new tools, handling countless cries for help from users, and
coming through every time.  It's at times a thankless job - mostly because
the users and executives have no earthly idea what you have to go through
sometimes in order to keep the system humming along the way you do. 

But it's time for you to take a second, sit back, and have a look at the big
picture.  It's time for you to realize what all your efforts have done for
the company you work for - and the overall economy in general. 

U.S. Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan - the individual many
experts claim is at the helm of the U.S. economy - recently testified before
the Congressional Joint Economic Committee that innovations in information
technologies, and their implementations by corporations, have been
principally responsible for the economic boom in the U.S. economy over the
last nine years.  Said Greenspan, "An economy that twenty years ago seemed
to have seen its better days, is displaying a remarkable run of economic
growth that appears to have its roots in ongoing advances in technology."

Greenspan cited up-to-the-minute access to information, more efficient
business technology, and investment and implementations by businesses of
that technology as reasons for increased productivity.   Staffs are made
more efficient, thus reducing the need for redundant personnel.  Due to
instant access to supply-and-demand, inventories can be kept down or
increased where needed.  High-speed communication has facilitated fine-tuned
product development as well as faster and better service.

While it's certainly true that innovation and development in hardware and
software play a large measure in this boom, these innovations would never
see the light of day if they weren't put into use.  And that's where you
come in.  You're the one who is constantly on the lookout for ways to get
the job done faster and better.  You're the one putting in late nights to
make sure they work. 

So what have you done?  Consider this: Since 1995, when we began to see
major acceleration in information technology development, the output per
labor hour (the measure, says Greenspan, that is the standard measure of
productivity) has grown at an annual rate of about 2%, largely attributable
to increased, more efficient production.  The output from business has
steadily kept ahead of investment needed to make it run.   That can be
directly traced to technological advancements making business more
efficient.  But THAT would not have happened without you, the IT
professional on the job, making sure it all works! 

So stand tall!  Blow your own horn!  And when you look around at your
neighbors and friends enjoying the fruits of a burgeoning economy, go ahead
and say, "You're welcome."

@Macarlo, Inc.
@Macarlo's Shareware & Web
OS/2
Java Lobby Member
Java Site Accredited

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