In the future, the interdependency of IT and the business will be sorted out so that IT no longer is responsible for the delivery of IT while the business just sits on the sideline waiting to judge the outcome. In this future, IT will be accountable for ensuring that IT is done well; the business will be accountable for implementing the technology to improve business performance. I call this enabling IT. Enabling IT requires creating relationships, roles, processes and an infrastructure that helps the business satisfy its day-to-day needs without involving IT. This means that IT 1) facilitates appropriate decision making to protect the interests of the enterprise, 2) defines data, business services, architectural guidelines and technology standards to coordinate the activities of the enterprise, 3) develops enabling infrastructure, tools, processes and support resources, 4) educates and coaches users and provides resources so that the business can manage projects and change, determine necessary functionality, and develop and deploy systems, and 5) provides development and operational resources and services on demand - both staff and technology - in conjunction with external suppliers.

In the future, IT professionals will become innovation experts by combining technology savvy, business knowledge, management discipline and the ability to play well with others. Those with a heavier technical orientation will focus on defining architecture and designing and developing infrastructure and enabling platforms. Professionals with a strong business orientation will focus on collaborating with the business on strategy, governance, and project and service delivery. Individuals with stronger management discipline will specialize in overseeing technology development, service and operational delivery, resource management and risk management.

The Story You Tell

The enabling IT model will address the IT professional's concerns about job security, the hierarchy of technical skills and the resources squeeze. It's undeniably true that commodity IT jobs will be outsourced. But IT jobs and roles that touch on innovation will not be outsourced. They won't be outsourced because they demand the ability to comprehend the connections among technology, data and business processes, and the ability to understand the connections between people and how work gets done within the organization.

In this brave new world, IT's influence within the company will increase. Paradoxically, by giving up control over technology delivery, IT will gain authority as it can no longer be blamed for being a bottleneck to technical innovation. In addition, with the business doing (and paying for) the day-to-day development effort, much of the variable demand will be external to the IT department, thereby allowing IT to plan its work and ensure adequate funding.

All this means that there will be an incredible demand for innovation experts, and it will only be satisfied if the talented professionals currently in place adopt lifelong learning as their mantra. Learning can occur on the job and, in some cases, in the classroom, but now more than ever IT professionals need to take a hard look in the mirror, assess their skill sets, and then reach out for the learning opportunities that will expand their capabilities. The projected slowdown in labour growth will play to the advantage of those professionals who possess innovation-expert-type skills. In the future, these people will be able to write their own tickets, personally, professionally and financially.

The future of IT in your organization (and your own future within your organization) depends on your ability to communicate this story to your staff and have this model embraced by your company. If your organization doesn't understand already that today's pain is for tomorrow's gain, get busy writing your story. Doing so will ensure that IT's potential will finally be realized and the IT staff will have the best jobs in the business.

Susan Cramm is founder and president of California-based Valuedance, an executive coaching firm. You can e-mail feedback to susan@valuedance.com