Marketing > IT

Well I don't think this is a valid "pro tip", but rather, just spreading the news.
It's not like programmers ever cared for rules anyway.

Anyhow, it seems the numbers say Marketing is pretty much taking IT over. What does this mean? It means they are generating more revenue, and thus are getting more budget and attention. Which leads to them making all the decisions. And this trend is growing.

Which, by the way, pretty much explains why Google changed its modus operandi lately, and became more of a marketing-oriented company.

But is this good, or bad?

In a world of extra hours, extra efforts, where going the extra mile is the standard de facto in IT, I do consider this trend a bit scary. The fact that IT is generating more profit with less budget isn't due to some crazy voodoo magic, unknown to everyone except programmers. It's because we are making a continuous effort. We all are pushed to the limit, every day. We have to be the best of the best. And then, we have to be even better.

2011 budget as % of revenue for IT: 3.6%
2012 budget as % of revenue for IT: 3.2%

What evil bastards those marketing guys are, right? Not quite.

Online Marketing is evolving, and it's evolving fast. But so is Technology; and that's a good thing for both. They rely on each other, they need each other.

The bottomline is: what's happening is only natural, and it's not necessarily a bad thing; but for IT to function properly, it needs to be it's own king. So maybe it's time for IT to watch out a little, and defend all it has conquered over the years. If you are a team leader, try to keep this in mind.

Further reading and sources: http://www.zdnet.com/research-the-devalued-future-of-it-in-a-marketing-world-7000003989/

And if you made it here, thanks for reading all the way through! See you in the next PT or blogpost :)