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What IT terminology are you swearing off in 2015?
Take a buzz saw to these buzzwords: In this #CIOChat recap, participants share the IT terminology they're looking to retire in 2015.
TIME recently released its annual list of words it thinks should be banned in 2015, stocked almost entirely with pop culture jargon like "bae," "basic" and "turnt." While most CIOs don't talk about getting "turnt" or going out with "bae" on a regular basis -- or, in some cases, aren't even sure what those words mean -- there are bound to be a few IT terms that have similarly worn out their welcome in 2014.
In SearchCIO's latest #CIOChat, we asked participants to share their own list of hackneyed IT terminology that should be sworn off in 2015.
When asked the same question last year, SearchCIO's followers and editors hoped to reduce the use of such lingo as big data, customer-focused, the digital age and more for less -- many of which, for better or worse, are still being used extensively today. What terms will #CIOChat-ters renounce this year?
One bit of IT terminology that's garnered a lot of attention is disruption -- see also disruptor and disruptive -- which is used to describe new technologies and business models that displace established IT and shake up the industry. Disruption has become so widely used that it's included as one of TIME's words to ban in 2015, one of only two technology-related terms on the list.
Max Nisen of Business Insider described how disruption turned into an overused buzzword by stating, "The startup and tech worlds have taken a perfectly useful word and turned it into something devoid of meaning." SearchCIO Executive Editor Linda Tucci echoed Nisen's concern about the overuse and misuse of the word:
#CIOchat Well, I would like to swear off "digital disruption" but suspect there will be a lot more digital disrupting going on in 2015.
— Linda Tucci (@LTucci)
December 17, 2014
@LTucci definitely ... and "digital transformation" for that matter :-)
— Eric Klein (@eakleiner)
December 17, 2014
As the old saying goes, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," but if it is broke, should you fix it or just trade up? One #CIOChat-ter is sick of the break/fix IT terminology and suggests that it's sometimes best to start fresh once a problem is identified:
#CIOChat a5. #IT term i will be swearing off of in 2015 is break/fix. It will be more break/replace moving fwd.
— Will Lassalle (@wlassalle)
December 17, 2014
A4 swearing off clever names for vulnerabilities that keep me up at night #CIOChat
— Walker White (@walkerwhite)
December 17, 2014
A solution is defined as a means of solving a problem, but participants agreed that the use of the word today seldom fulfills that pledge and has become a trite umbrella term for any new technology or methodology. #CIOChat-ters' solution to this problem? Drop the word in 2015:
A5: #solutions has been long in the tooth / over used for some time ... still a good "catch all" though :-) #CIOChat
— Eric Klein (@eakleiner)
December 17, 2014
Please kill #solutions @eakleiner #CIOChat
— Scott King (@thescottking)
December 17, 2014
@eakleiner Agree on "solutions" -- the term makes a promise that it doesn't necessary deliver :) #CIOChat
— RachelTT (@RachelatTT)
December 17, 2014
Participants also hoped to purge the term shadow IT -- the hardware or software not supported by an organization's IT department -- from the CIO vocabulary this year. Shadow IT has been approached as "the enemy" for some time, but now more organizations are sidelining their battle against shadow users in order to better communicate with, integrate and educate employees on the matter.
Similarly, SearchCIO followers think shadow IT is a shady term and hope it will fade in 2015 as companies try to reconcile shadow practices with their overarching IT strategies:
A5. In 2015, #shadowIT will be acknowledged as just IT #CIOChat
— rajiv gupta (@trustedmind)
December 17, 2014
@trustedmind @searchCIO #CIOChat True. We need to dig deep and determine why shadow IT exists..can certainly be an uncomfortable excercise.
— Elliott Franklin (@elliottfranklin)
December 17, 2014
.@elliottfranklin @searchCIO Yep -- the IT folks at Western Union go out and personally interview employees for this purpose #CIOChat
— rajiv gupta (@trustedmind)
December 17, 2014
Because IT isn't being used as a differentiator. @elliottfranklin @trustedmind @searchCIO
— Scott King (@thescottking)
December 17, 2014
@trustedmind @elliottfranklin @searchCIO IT needs to accept "Shadow IT" =current state- change culture to engage and be consultant #ciochat
— Stuart Appley (@sappley)
December 17, 2014
A year has passed since our #CIOChat participants first wanted to do away with the term big data, but it's still alive and well -- and as prevalent as ever. Nonetheless, SearchCIO's Senior Managing Editor Rachel Lebeaux voiced her continued concern over the term's "big" implications:
@searchCIO A5 "Big data" is too ubiquitous. It's not about how much data you collect; it's about what you do with it analytics-wise #CIOChat
— RachelTT (@RachelatTT)
December 17, 2014
Digital native, a term used to describe a person born or raised during the age of the digital technology boom and familiar with the Internet from an early age, also made the list of possible IT terminology to swear off:
@searchCIO A5 Some want to retire "digital native." I don't personally mind it, but does anybody have a better replacement term? #CIOChat
— RachelTT (@RachelatTT)
December 17, 2014
Is there any IT terminology you wish would go away in 2015? Sound off in the comments section below.