The prevailing wisdom says that technology is supposed to be getting simpler all the time.  Corporate leaders insist on circumventing expensive technology experts, as technology is getting simpler and better.

I touched on this fallacy very briefly in a recent article on information security investments. While technology has become easier to use in many ways, the complexity of technology has actually significantly increased over a period of time. This has also lead to greater challenges in the management of technology infrastructure and technology teams.

We are still in the relative infancy of the technology industry. There is a lot of growth to be attained before this industry gets fully matured.  It is not unreasonable to suggest that the current pace of change will continue unabated for at least another 15-20 years. By then we may find viable ways to spread simplicity throughout the entire infrastructure.  But that time is not now.  For now, all we can do is move the complexity from one place to another.

For example, let’s take a look at the microprocessor.  In 1999, Intel released the 32-bit Pentium III microprocessor at speeds of  450 and 500 MHz, with 9.5 million transistors on a 128 mm² die, using a .25 micron (250 nm) fabrication process.

By 2009, Intel was selling mainstream desktop processors such as the 64-bit quad-core Core i5 family, which was released at speeds of 2.66 GHz, with 774 million transistors on a 296 mm² die, using a 45 nm (nanometer) fabrication process.  That’s not an increase in simplicity by any stretch of the imagination.

Technology has over the years facilitated simplicity for end-users in many ways.  It has enabled people who know little about technology to harness considerable power and functionality, which required greater knowledge in the past.  It has enabled people to perform simple jobs more rapidly, and granted them the ability to perform complex jobs without understanding the complexity behind the work.  We have taken the massive computing power available to us at the desktop, and added more code to make things user-friendly for end users.

However, this simplicity of use has come at a price.  What we have done is transferred the complexity from the front end of the organisation to the back end.  It has not been removed; it has merely been displaced.

Server virtualisation is a popular area where we can see this transfer of complexity from one place to another.  Basically, server virtualisation allows you to take one large physical machine and carve discrete server instances out of it so that applications can be isolated from each other at a logical level.  Some of the benefits that come from using this technology include:

• Faster provisioning of new servers
• More precise allocation of resources
• More disaster recovery options

Here are just a few of the other things that virtualisation also brings to the table:

• Greater dependency on network performance
• More single point of failure scenarios
• Greater collateral damage because of the system, security or storage problem
• Increased training requirements for staff

An environment where virtualisation is used extensively requires techies who can manage not just networking or servers or storage, but all three.  In the event that the staff responsible for the virtualised infrastructure is skilled only in one or two of the needed disciplines, it will be necessary for multiple team members to get involved in all troubleshooting endeavours in order to effectively solve problems in the environment.  Needless to say this requires more time and effort, and there is a clear indication that complexity cannot be reduced across the board.

As technology improves, the lower end of the food chain becomes commoditised, and can be easily outsourced because it is no longer adds competitive advantage.  We see this with call centres and desktop support, where the cost to provide the service is much lower than in-house staff.  While this is happening, however, the higher end of the food chain is becoming more complex and sophisticated.

Software-as-a-Service (Saas), Cloud Computing, Grid Computing and High-Performance Computing (HPC) require more expertise and skill in planning, architecture, implementation and integration in a variety of technology disciplines.  And no matter how you slice it, this means increased costs (for increased benefit).

You do pay more, whether in increased wages per IT professional, or in a need for more professionals to cover all the specialised areas.  But, the benefits are also huge when you implement these technologies correctly.  The investments made in IT professionals will pay back dividends in increased flexibility, improved productivity, additional revenue opportunities, and reduced business risk.

As the saying goes, it takes money to make money.  This holds true of technology management and deployment.  Proper investments in people, tools, and processes will yield solid, sustainable results.  Conversely, an excessive focus on cost-cutting will strip the organisation of vital capabilities and flexibility, and ultimately undermine its competitive advantage.

Andrew Baker is an accomplished IT Leader and former CIO at ARGI, US