Hot Seat: Ian Butterworth

How did you get into IT?
I was programming software that was used to model nuclear reactor design. I graduated with a physics degree and quickly transferred to IT.

What web site do you check first in the morning?
The BBC web site.

Which IT vendor do you think has been the most influential in the past 20 years?
Like it or hate it, it has to be Microsoft for its sheer pervasiveness.

What is the most ridiculous support request you have had from a user?
In the old days of Windows 95, we were asked if we could issue a warning message before Windows crashed. Not so ridiculous really, and if we could have cracked that one, we’d have been very rich.

Which person do you most admire in the IT industry?
Linus Torvalds and the GNU project for making sure we still have a choice of servers and keeping competition alive in the server world.

What has been the most over-hyped technology in the past five years and/or what will be the most over-hyped of the next year?
Service-oriented architecture. It’s great to be able to publish and discover services but the technology is only a small part of delivering flexible business processes that are robust and reliable.

Is now a good time for people to enter the UK IT profession?
Yes, it is always a good time to get into IT so long as you like change.

What is the worst computer you have ever used?
I think that would be the Sinclair Spectrum – definitely the worst.