Today we ask our probing questions to the well renowned Andy Butler (LinkedIn) just retired VP Distinguished Analyst at Gartner (Alumnus), who gives us his views on the the industry in 10 questions. Enjoy..
- How long have you been in the IT industry and where did you begin your
career?
I can claim a 45 year unbroken period in the industry. I left school at 18 and immediately started working, as I was not convinced that a university course would be necessary for where I wanted to go. Back then it was still possible to get into a profession without a degree; something that is much harder to achieve these days. I was able to join Nielsen Research, who employed school leavers with decent grades to be fast tracked into professional roles. After a few months working in a research QA function, I found a role as an RPG II programmer on their IBM System 3 Model 10. I then followed a typical “IT apprenticeship” through programming, systems analysis and finally IT management roles that evolved into various software and hardware product marketing positions at HP prior to joining Gartner in 1997. Continue Reading →