Over the last decade or so we have seen a dramatic shift in the IT landscape. Organisations increasingly see that technology is not just a ‘nice to have’, it’s a strategic imperative with a backlog of projects that need to have been done yesterday.

This shift has meant IT departments need to rethink their role in organisations and how they operate. The truth is that most IT departments were conceived in a very different era under very different circumstances and are now often failing to respond to the needs of increasingly technology-savvy (and increasingly demanding) users.

It is time to look at how we might do things differently. What would it mean to create an IT function that genuinely empowers the people it serves? That encourages skill development and technology adoption, and guides users towards the right technology? How would we structure it, how would we operate it and what might the benefits be?

In a world where technology is increasingly pervasive and every business is becoming a technology business, this is a challenge that can no longer be ignored.