Process begets process...

"Time was when we could just re-cable the server ourself, and not have to pay some idiot $100 to move the thing", was heard across the room today in a large clients office, and oh did it ring true... however as organisations mature -> processes place a framework around work carried out and services are measured via uptime and other SLA's....no more adhocracy, only at the wiki level!

Measure.. hmmmmm.. that's a funny word in IT isn't it... 'MEASURE','MEASURE'...M-E-A-S-U-R-E

# measurement: the act or process of assigning numbers to phenomena according to a rule; "the measurements were carefully done"; "his mental ...
# standard: a basis for comparison; a reference point against which other things can be evaluated; "the schools comply with federal standards"; "they set the measure for all subsequent work"
# how much there is of something that you can quantify
# any maneuver made as part of progress toward a goal; "the situation called for strong measures"; "the police took steps to reduce crime"
# bill: a statute in draft before it becomes law; "they held a public hearing on the bill"
# determine the measurements of something or somebody, take measurements of; "Measure the length of the wall"
# meter: (prosody) the accent in a metrical foot of verse
# quantify: express as a number or measure or quantity; "Can you quantify your results?"
# have certain dimensions; "This table surfaces measures 20inches by 36 inches"
# musical notation for a repeating pattern of musical beats; "the orchestra omitted the last twelve bars of the song"
# measuring stick: measuring instrument having a sequence of marks at regular intervals; used as a reference in making measurements
# place a value on; judge the worth of something; "I will have the family jewels appraised by a professional"

So I text myself sometimes when particular thoughts cross my mind;

"First you need visibility/surveillance, and then accountability of packets, flows and data objects, then comes valuation of said data objects, services and supporting infrastructure... now we can have meaningful conversations about risk and IT security"

Hmmmmm... sampling, measuring, identifying.... what's your IT footprint? What's the last IT related report you looked at, what did it measure and what did it really say about your organisational IT footprint?