Unlimited IT budgets are gone. Instead, there has to be value added. In fact, to better leverage technology, IT people are being integrated into the entire company and are expected to learn the business.

Fortunately for midlevel IT professionals, the corporate culture is also changing to support this shift. Generally speaking, executive leadership understands the importance of technology and will likely support efforts by the IT group to interface with other business units. In fact, in terms of new hires, what we are seeing in all markets is that corporate leadership is actively looking for IT professionals that already possess broader business experience.

Midlevel IT staffers are not the only ones affected, however. The trend started with the need for technology leadership to become business thought leaders as well as technology leaders. As CIOs start interfacing with other business units, so must their staffs. Essentially, if you are going to have a cohesive team, you need everyone on board and in sync.

The impact of outsourcing

Outsourcing has accelerated this shift. With outsourcing, organizations are generally left with a core group of IT professionals who do not have direct control over all of the technology functions. Instead, the role of IT is shifting from driving technology to leveraging it. Doing this entails interfacing with your internal customers and then influencing them, the ultimate users. Selling your technology solutions, however, requires that you establish your credibility and that you develop your communication and consensus-building skills. You can establish your credibility by developing your business acumen -- essentially your understanding of what makes the business run.