<p>MiamiDap:
I’m running out of ways to say it but you’re generally describing IT functions - not functions by companies that typically develop major software applications. Maybe you haven’t worked for a company that does software development other than that associated with IT departments in the support of applications and infrastructure, i.e. for an engineering/development company, but again, they exist and they’re considered different areas. Often it would fall under the ‘engineering’ department as opposed to the IT department. To state it another way - the development of the routers that major networing companies manufacture typically would be part of an engineering/development group and not part of the IT group for that company. The same is true for the software and firmware that goes into that network product as well. You mentioned mainframes/servers - the hardware design and the software and application development that are part of those systems is typically a part of the engineering department (of which ‘software engineering/development’ would be a part of) - not the IT department. Lots of companies have IT departments but not engineering/development departments because they’re not a development organization - consider the difference between banking, corporate, government, etc. which have IT departments but not engineering/development and Microsoft, Oracle, Google, IBM, Sun, Lockheed, Northrup, etc. that have both an engineering/development department since they’re actually developing the applications and an IT department to support their business.</p>