The implication of all these viewpoints is that is no longer significant and that, overall, it's so standardized and commoditized that it can be treated like any other area of the business. In fact, it can be managed by someone with no technical background at all.

The general rap against technical IT executives is that they talk about technology too much and fail to communicate with CEOs in so-called "business terms." The thinking is that CIOs fail to use the language of business and thereby bore-or, worse, alienate-CEOs, with the result that CIOs are dismissed from the inner ranks of corporations.

If only CIOs could learn to , the argument goes, then they would be accepted into the inner circle, embraced by CEOs no longer discomfited by technical jargon.

The shorthand version of this argument is the CIO needs to be a business leader, not a technologist. The implication is clear: The CIO leaves the technical details to others and focuses on the big picture.