The Most Destructive, Unpredictable Force in Tech

[Commentary] The most destructive, unpredictable, and fickle force in the tech industry is you and me and everyone we know.

More or less overnight, a series of technological and marketing revolutions -- like ubiquitous broadband Internet and the lure of consumer devices such as the iPhone -- completely upended the market for technology. Over the past few years, for the first time, we "end users" have been allowed to choose the tech we want to use at home, on our wireless networks, and, crucially, at the office. Call it the case of the incredibly shrinking IT Guy: In the past, CIOs and their staff had a reputation for being snarky, geeky guys who were always looking for ways to tell employees what they couldn't do. Now, at the most progressive companies, the tech department's main job isn't to say no. Instead, it's to find a way to let employees safely run any device or program they like. The thinking goes like this: Employees are most productive when they're allowed to work with the tools that make them happy.