IT Departments, They Are A-Changin’

Staffing – The demand for corporate IT specialists is shifting away from the IT worker who specializes in a certain technology and toward “versatilists”—those capable of interacting with people outside of their typical domain, according to research from Gartner.

Gartner Vice President Diane Morello says the versatilist has a strong base of knowledge in a certain area, which may or may not be technology-related. Such an employee might have expertise as a project manager, financial analyst or an application designer but is able to take on broader responsibilities required by an IT group.

Gartner’s findings are similar to those from “The State of the CIO 2006” survey by CIO (to find out more, see “Your IT Department” within “The Survey” on Page 73, and “The New IT Department” on Page 68).

CIO research finds that IT departments are hiring now. But according to Morello, by 2010, IT organizations in midsize and large companies will be 30 percent smaller than they were in 2005. Meanwhile, 10 percent to 15 percent of IT workers today will drop out of the IT occupation, Morello says, choosing new fields such as teaching or government service.