For several years, a growing number of executives, analysts, and management writers have argued that business leaders, not technologists, should take "ownership" of corporate information technology by holding themselves responsible both for its impact and for the money spent to improve it.1 Information technology's role within organizations has changed, these critics argue, and the way they manage their investments in technology must change, too.
Once, the IT organization could be run effectively as a support function. Today, however, most new IT applications span businesses and functions, while some connect organizations to their partners and customers. Companies that aim to derive full value from their investment in IT must therefore alter their business processes and understand how IT can be used to foster improvements and competitive advantage (see "Technology after the bubble"). But these advances will be achieved only if business leaders become more involved in technological decision making—only, in fact, if they call the shots.
Some companies have heeded this advice. Yet few believe that the effort had the desired effect; after appointing business leaders to corporate technology committees, for example, they found that the hoped-for improvement in relations between the two sides failed to...