Gartner: Get ready for regulation of the IT sector

Don't be alarmed yet. It's not going to happen overnight, but by 2015 some predict there will be plenty of regulations over the information technology industry.

Much like the airline, pharmaceutical and telecommunications industries, Richard Hunter, vice president at Gartner says regulation is inevitable. In an interview with GovInfoSecurity.com, he said, "What usually happens in any industry, when you reach that level of importance in society, is that regulation takes place."

That means innovation could be stifled, especially for startups, he said. The open-source community that doesn't have the financial backing of a giant like Microsoft would be squelched. Regulations will be imposed on IT vendors, too, Hunter said. And all of these regulations will force the price of the product to go up, he added.

The government, he said, will take action because of its concern over the increasing influence of IT on the quality of daily life. "That is to say when an industry succeeds in moving its products and services right into the heart of daily life, regulating tends to follow," Hunter said.

For more on regulating IT:
- check out this GovInfoSecurity.com article

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