General Info

When INT Information Systems was founded in 1984, the computing environment was quite different than it is today. Few people could have envisioned the omnipresence of the Internet, or computers that have - and need - a gigabyte of RAM, or 500 megabyte drives that fit on a keychain. Even today, it's little more than guesswork to suggest what new technologies will present themselves in the next ten years, let alone the next twenty. One thing we agreed on - as true today as it was two decades ago - was that the computer was simply a tool. We felt there was a fundamental distinction about the role of the computer that was going overlooked. Even back then, it was clear that computers were good at performing boring and repetitive tasks quickly, with a high degree of accuracy. However, when we created an information center for end-user computing support while working at Owens Corning Fiberglas Research and Development Center, we learned that the computer wasn't a replacement for a person. The computer's stock-in-trade, data, was only one component of a process that also involved the uniquely human ability to integrate insight and experience into decision-making. It also couldn't run itself. While a powerful tool, the computer is at the mercy of its operator. Therefore, it is crucial that the operator understand how best to use it. Computers have radically evolved since then yet this foundational insight hasn't changed. Computers are still tools and people are still their masters. Surprisingly, the dividing line between what the computer can do and what people can do is as clear today as it was then. Databases are incredibly powerful in their ability to store and arrange data but it takes a human to construct the queries and reports that turn the raw data into something meaningful. Word processors are capable of creating amazing documents but it takes a person who understands the available gadgets and settings to make it all come together. In short, people are still behind the wheel of the computer and they will be for the foreseeable future. As a result, our business is focused on teaching people to help themselves. A key element to "helping people help themselves" is education. Many training organizations take a very limited view of this concept, focusing only on what tools are available, with little insight as to how to use those tools in various situations. In some cases this makes perfect sense: once you know how to italicize text, there's not much more to learn about that particular tool. However, today's desktop applications are loaded with dozens of features that are not as straightforward as the humble "Italics" button.