The next big decision companies face is deciding the role of IT in the business. In 2005, nine out of 10 IT organisations played an enabling role. Where IT moves beyond enabling to contributing, the business expects and receives more value.

Contributing IT organisations concentrate on delivering IT services tied to business results. These organisations get more out of IT because they expect more and invest time, attention and resources.

An enabling organisation does just that: it enables. Such organisations usually wait for business units to tell them what they need and then wait for IT to deliver. Just as simple and complex machines enable us to perform work quicker, better and faster, so it is with IT in these firms.

Because of these efforts, IT enables work to be performed more efficiently, the business to be more profitable, work to be conducted that could not be performed before, and so on.

An enabling IT organisation is viewed as the cost of doing business with success, marked by keeping system availability up and costs down. An enabling IT organisation views cutting server costs by 15 per cent as a major achievement. For 80 per cent to 90 per cent of organisations, IT will be asked to play primarily an enabling role.

A contributing IT organisation achieves the same goal, but it goes beyond it to make a measurable difference in how the business works and performs. For example, a contributing IT organisation aims to reduce customer acquisition cycle time, reduce inventory levels and increase customer satisfaction.

IT is exploited as a process innovation driver. Success is measured by converting, eliminating or outsourcing various processes and by having a positive impact on new product and service development, revenue and profit improvement and entry into new markets.

The business and IT organisation make this decision based on what the business needs from IT. For many businesses, an enabling role represents the best application of IT. Other businesses need the IT organisation to step up and contribute to realise corporate objectives and strategies.

Excerpt from the Gartner report The Gartner Scenario 2005: IT Leaders’ Next Big Decisions. See www.gartner.com