This week in '99: 'IT on Board' and 'Ban the Ban'

Internet Service Providers were among the first industry players to react saying it could seriously damage the future of the Internet because it banned the practice of Web caching. The legislation sparked off a 'Ban the Ban' campaign at Silicon.com that was hailed a success in May when clause 5.1 was amended.

In the same week, Silicon.com hosted the successful 'IT on Board' event in London. Rene Caryol, then IT director at IPC, sparked a heated debate about the role he and his peers should play in the commercial running of a business.

This is how the story broke on 11 February, 1999:

IT professionals who want to reach the board of directors need to start taking commercial responsibility for their work. This was the message from Rene Carayol, IT director at IPC Magazines, who gave a rallying speech at Silicon.com's IT on Board event in London this morning.

Attacking the mentality of sulky IT staff who complain that the business doesn't understand or appreciate them, Carayol said: "That's our fault. Call me old-fashioned but a little bit of ownership goes a long way. If we're really proud of what we do and what we can achieve then let's talk it up. Let's not be shy about it.

"We've got to be linguists, we've got to speak their language, we've got to wear their clothes" he said. "We've got to make them feel comfortable in dealing with us. Then we have the real key power relationships. If we can get IT and the business working in unison, then we've cracked it."