It's CIOs' lack of involvement with corporate executives in setting strategy -- and a shortage of business skills -- that are constraining IT departments, according to the research firm.

Gartner Executive Programs conducted a worldwide survey of more than 1,400 CIOs and found that 61 percent of respondents feel they have the money necessary to meet their 2007 commitments; 58 percent said their IT organizations have the right mix of technical and organizational flexibility to get the job done.

Although some individual IT departments might be cash-strapped or have technical skills gaps, "it's not true of the majority," said Mark McDonald, group vice president at Gartner EXP in Chicago. Instead, many CIOs are hard-pressed to find and retain enough IT staffers with sufficient business savvy.

"The predominant skills missing are business skills," he said, adding that 63 percent of the CIOs surveyed by Gartner between September and December 2006 didn't feel their IT staffs had the right mix or number of skills.

According to the Gartner study, there's a strong correlation between companies that use IT for competitive advantage and CIOs who work closely with CEOs and other business executives in setting corporate strategies.