The New Face of IHOB

It's either a sign that doomsday is nigh, or maybe just a clever marketing ploy that got everyone, however briefly, to think about one of the food service industry's oldest still-thriving brands. Earlier today, just a few weeks away from winding up its 60th year in operation, International House of Pancakes, better known to many by the acronym IHOP (that's "eye-hawp"), announced its intention to become International House of Something Else. Wait. What?! Say it isn't so!

Remember the scene in Ghostbusters where the fellas tell the mayor that a disaster of "biblical proportions" is about to descend on New York City? Yeah, the reaction of the general public, at least as gauged on social media and through news commentary, was sort of like that. I mean, they used to do pancakes, and now they're adding burgers to the menu. And (slightly) changing the name of the restaurant to (ahem) beef up their visibility in a highly competitive market.

Yes, it's bold. And, sure, burgers are not the same thing as pancakes. On the other hand, it's not as though a national chain of record stores or beauty salons suddenly announced its intention to begin flipping all-beef patties. This is a fast food franchise that has been doing fast food for 60 years and is suddenly adding a relatively uncomplicated fast food item to its menu. Come on, people. There are more important collective conniption fits to be thrown.

IHOP, or IHOB as the chain has now rebranded itself, is doing what it feels it has to do to stay relevant and competitive in a cutthroat industry. It's a healthy reminder to those of us in the much more volatile IT industry that workplaces change. You can either roll with the changes, or get rolled over by everyone else. Don't assume that because your job is one thing today, that it will be the same 10 years, or even five years from now. You need to stay on your toes.

Certification is an excellent means of keeping yourself abreast of IT changes. You can quickly learn what you need to know to move into an IT job, and then you'll be on the front lines. Once you've actually taken the field of battle, it's a lot easier to learn, adapt, and steer clear of danger. So whether you're an IT noob, or just trying to movie from one sector of IT to another, remember that the right training and certification courseware can be vital to finding your way.