My kids constantly argue about which generation they’re in: millennials or Generation Z. The cutoffs are fuzzy, and it usually comes down to their vibe.
Fortunately, the transitions are clearer in technology. We saw 3G and 4G telecommunications networks, and now we’re swimming in 5G. We understood Web 2.0 to have arrived with the explosion of user-generated content, and Web 3 moves us from a centralized to a decentralized internet. At the recent Hawaii Grant Summit, I learned about third-generation information technology. And while it was a new term to me, it made sense.
Geeks of a certain age remember the first generation of IT. The term goes back to the 1950s, but it took hold in the 1980s, with servers, databases, desktop computers and local area networks — before the internet, certainly, but extending into the days of modems and T1 internet (think copper wires).
For the most part, it was on-premise computing. The server room in the basement, the cables in the ceiling. When it comes to second-generation IT, I didn’t know I was living in it until I looked back at it. Its arrival was marked by cloud computing: the offloading of computing hardware and power to centralized providers. There was still the client-server model, but the server was now out there, somewhere.
Sure, there are regional data centers, but now infrastructure providers like Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud are essentially everywhere.
The cutoff marking the arrival of third-generation IT is clear and stark: the pandemic. While IT departments everywhere probably knew fully distributed computing was the future, COVID-19 forced everyone to make it happen. It was one thing when everyone was sitting in an office connecting to the office server. But when everyone had to work from home, the old way buckled or even broke.
The pandemic revealed glaring limitations of technologies like virtual private networks, firewalls, and legacy identity and access management services. They were designed assuming that workers would access apps and data while inside the corporate network.
Employees trying to access systems from outside ran into poor connectivity and performance, and endless authentication problems. (“Try logging out and logging back in again.”)
Third-generation IT solves these problems. Fundamentally, the approach flips the script by fully embracing secure access from anywhere using modern identity, device management and collaboration platforms. It recognizes today’s realities where employees, devices and business apps are distributed across many locations.
Is your organization a third-generation IT organization? Here’s a checklist:
>> First, cloud-based identity and access control instead of on-premise systems. No tokens on your keychain or a special server in your data center, or syncing logins between systems. Just a single online dashboard with simple controls for every user and every resource.
>> Second, seamless device management that can handle a desktop PC just as easily as it can a smartphone or tablet. Again, no workarounds needed.
>> Third, cloud collaboration platforms. Smaller organizations can use tools like Slack, Trello or Asana. Google Workspace is another option. Corporate environments probably need to succumb to Microsoft SharePoint, OneDrive and Teams. No more file servers or shared network drives.
>> Fourth, a more holistic approach to network management, beyond “network monitoring” and uptime and traffic charts and graphs. Prioritize user experience and focus on applications, not wires and pipes. This might mean rebooting your telecom and broadband setups.
>> Finally, of course, resiliency and security. That means backups normal people can use — no server snapshots, or recoveries that take hours. Cybersecurity has to be smart and proactive, not looking for known fingerprints or signatures, but catching suspicious behaviors. Artificial intelligence is doing a lot here.
If your organization is merely surviving a distributed workforce and not thriving, thinking in terms of third-generation IT could help. It aligns with the reality that work today happens everywhere. Employees expect to be productive regardless of location.
The pandemic forced sudden digital transformation upon Hawaii organizations, but you can do more than land on your feet. You can hit the ground running. It’s time to get ahead of the curve.
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Ryan Kawailani Ozawa publishes Hawaii Bulletin, an email newsletter covering local tech and innovation. Read and subscribe at HawaiiBulletin.com.
