What is Information Technology (IT)

I see a lot of topics in regards to certifications, career paths, and so on and I am just curious from a general view what others define as IT? This is just for fun (I hope it is fun!) to see how others view this definition? How this is defined can also give direction to the various career paths one can take in the IT industry.

Anyone want to start

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Comments

DevilWAH

Its what it says it is, "The technology of information". The understanding of how to make technology work. What it does, why it was invented. How does a key press on a PC in the US, is detected, recorded on, acted on, transmitted, received, acted on and affect a laptop, pc, phone.. in the UK.

there are many steps, and many different specialist areas. Windows is about 50 million lines of code (i think) and this is only one small part of the picture. And while we love to argue which field is best, we all have to appreciated that each field can be hugely complex, and each can offer enough deeps to keep you interested for life.

So its really all about getting information from point A to Point B, in the best way. Oh and of course it no good just knowing about how to do it. you then have to think why would your want to do it, and what people require, that's the whole point of IT, to provide information to a person at one or both ends of the process.

ltj8765

Thanks DeveilWAH for the good response!! Good points on the different career paths and I like where you say;

DevilWAH wrote: »

its really all about getting information from point A to Point B,

That is the basic view that I hold as well as to me it is use of "Technology" for processing of "Information" which is very very broad and you nailed it when you say that;

DevilWAH wrote: »

there are many steps, and many different specialist areas

For the sake of discussion, I have narrowed Information Technology (IT) down into three basic areas (in my view) as the foundations in which everything else builds off and interacts which each other. These three areas to me are:

1. The Hardware Component (Routers, PC, Handheld Devices, etc.)
2. The Application Component (such as the specific OS and applications that run on the hardware component)
3. The Infrastructure Component (Physical Layer that connects everything and and the infrastructure to support, e.g, OSP, Fiber Backbone, Cell Towers, etc.)