Technology, mankind seldom in sync

Unlike most of the other journalists at Computer Faire last week, I did manage to get something useful out of the event: an exclusive interview with Walter Jenny, senior enterprise architect, Sun Microsystems Europe.

Our conversation on a late Friday afternoon took us well beyond the scope of Sun, Java and other day-to-day IT concerns, and into the realm of Big Thinking - topics that a man like Jenny can inspire.

He spoke of his fascinating theory that technology and mankind are seldom in sync. Working in what he believes is a massive 20-year cycle, technology exceeds man, and then man exceeds technology, always leaving one or the other lagging behind.

I`m not entirely sure why this theory appeals to me so much; perhaps because it is mirrored in so many other facets of IT.

Jason Norwood-Young, Technology editor, ITWeb

I`m not entirely sure why this theory appeals to me so much; perhaps because it is mirrored in so many other facets of IT. It is copied on a smaller time scale with hardware and software, with one or the other always trying to catch up, and then overshooting the mark to take dominance in development. Maybe I appreciate the balance it represents on a macro scale, while on a micro investigation man and machine appear to be dramatically imbalanced.

The theory could also be extended to include business. Man and business could overlap somewhat, with their needs often leading towards the same goal. However, man and business do not necessarily have the same needs, therefore IT`s catering for one or the other could advance one before the other, depending on immediate necessity.

I think we have recently passed a crossover point between machine and business - a period in which IT`s deliverables and business needs matched up for a moment. This probably occurred in the last three to five years, and the result was the IT and business boom that we experienced until about a year ago. When technology outgrew both business and man`s needs, the IT market slumped; a state that will remain until businesses and/or man outgrow technology`s needs again.

The misalignment is not only caused by IT racing ahead and leaving everyone behind; it is also fuelled by man and business needing to stop and consolidate what they have; to understand it; and to decide where technology needs to go from here. Of course, technology is created by man and business, and business by man, which adds great complexity to the theory.

One could argue that modern business is often created by technology, too. But the theory only works because of the great interlinking necessity that each element offers the other.

Empirical proof of this admittedly wild theory would require a great deal of research into the technological, business and human states on this little blue planet over the last 100-odd years, and is well beyond the scope of this column. However, if anyone out there is looking for a thesis topic for an IS, IT, or economics degree, feel free to use this one.