The new IT manager, part 3: near-term strategies for IT managers

1. Summary

Three powerful, fast-moving trends are altering the landscape for business information technology (IT) managers and their staff: cloud computing, mobile computing and the consumerization of IT. Section 1 of this three-part report described and quantified each of these trends, demonstrating that they are real now, growing rapidly and perilous to ignore.

Section 2 investigated the actual and potential impacts of these trends on IT departments and their managers. We concluded that IT departments are losing direct control over how IT is purchased and used by the businesses they support. The IT professional’s job is also becoming more challenging because of the rapidly increasing complexity of the IT environment in most businesses. These two changes — decreasing control and increasing complexity — demand changes in how IT professionals think and act.

This final section of the report presents actionable strategies and tactics that IT managers may use to respond to the new realities of corporate computing they face. The primary recommendations are to redesign the IT organization for the loss of control, accelerate the IT department’s shift to a service provider model, become more aware of external and internal current realities and emerging trends, and become a proactive leader in developing and implementing IT and corporate strategy.