From the earliest days of commercial computing in the 1960s, there has been speculation about the best way to direct and manage Enterprise IT.  The function that was once known as the Electronic Data Processing (EDP) department, and later the Management Information Systems (MIS) organization, faced challenges that even today have not been fully resolved.  How much money should a given company spend on information technology? How does management know whether it is getting an acceptable return on these investments?  And how does a business go about determining its internal computing priorities and decision-making processes?

In this Position Paper, we share both our research findings and our overall sense of where Enterprise IT is heading over the medium to long term, as well as the many short-term effects stemming from the current market downturn.  Our goal is to work toward a shared vision of what the IT function will look like, given the position, industry and aims of an individual firm.  While many uncertainties remain, we seek to help our clients articulate their overall direction and strategy in what is now a rapidly changing business and technology context.  As always, we look forward to your comments and suggestions.