Everybody needs Jack
Not only does everyone love Jack, there is universal acceptance of the fact that, without Jack, certain things just wouldn't be able to get done, ever. Jack knows things that no one else knows, and although he has made a number of failed attempts at passing on this critical knowledge, for one reason or another these valiant efforts have just never been successful. Jack tries (or at least there was a time when he tried) to involve lesser beings in the various and sundry activities that he performs to keep all of the interrelated balls in the air, but for one reason or another, it just never works out. Time and time again Jack has been forced to admit the sad truth that he is simply the only one for the job as he passes up yet another missed opportunity to take some sorely needed time away from work.

If only there was someone else who could fumble through even half of the responsibilities that Jack manages to cover so effortlessly, but alas, such a soul cannot be located. Fortunately for the organization, Jack, ever the humble servant, shows up day in and day out to practice his magic so that the world can carry on.

Everybody has a Jack
Although I first met Jack in my early days in this profession, I've run into Jack so many times in so many different organizations that I've just come to the conclusion that every organization has a Jack, or a least some close resemblance to Jack. I've worked in places where Jack was responsible for the network, and nothing could happen with any device in the building without Jack there to ensure that the rest of the workforce wasn't taken out of commission. I've worked in places where Jack was responsible for a certain segment of the mainframe operating environment, and no one could make a move in that area without Jack's capable hands firmly at the controls; untold certain disasters would surely befall anyone who dared to venture in on their own.

Since most of my days in the IT profession have been spent as a developer, though, most of the Jacks that I have met have been other developers, responsible for a certain application or customer portfolio. Wherever it may be, the story is always the same: nobody, and I mean nobody, can touch that code except for Jack. If there's a problem (and let's face it, with Jack' systems, there is always a problem), don't even attempt to look at it. Just go get Jack.

The trouble with Jack
The basic problem with Jack is one that even his staunchest supporters will acknowledge: there is an absolute, undeniable dependence on Jack's existence. Even Jack will tell you that this is a problem, and it is the one and only problem that Jack has never been able to solve. But dependence is not the only problem. The far greater, underlying problem is that the software or systems for which Jack is responsible can't grow, change, and evolve with the rest of the organization. Jack is so busy just keeping things operating on a daily basis that there is virtually no time to add new features and functions, much less modernize or simplify things with newer technology. Jack would if he could, of course, but unfortunately right now there's a crisis, and well that's just going to have to wait until a more opportune time, which, of course, never seems to come along!