Wired describes a supersized server farm (a network/IT facility) in Las Vegas. This caught my eye:

Consider the comic book he penned about his staff, Switchblades: The Dark Ethereals have hacked into Earth’s ionosphere with a plan to destroy the Net! Luckily, Roy, er, Core and his band of super-employees are here to save the day-and keep the world safe for truth, knowledge, and the entrepreneurial way.

Early in my career we did an ethnographic study of senior IT professionals. During a visit to the converted-warehouse offices of a San Francisco clothing manufacturer, the CIO took us on a tour, and as we arrived at an appendage-like access-way, with a small wooden ladder cum staircase going through a heavy curtain. Before we entered what turned out to be the IT department and server room, our host said “…and this is the Batcave.”

That one word led to a significant insight about the identity of the IT professional: talented and heroic science-y types who labor unrecognized far behind the scenes, ready to emerge and save the city when they receive the signal. This informed a new segmentation of their market and some better understanding of how to position their evolving product line.

Although the company is gone from that space (it’s now loft-condo-something), it’s interesting to see that our finding still holds true today.