And before that, everything we can do to make clear our pain with the old system will help too. Users don't see the cost and effort required to keep some older systems alive. And they won't know about it until we explain it to them. Just as we don't know how crippling the loss of their old habits is until we start paying attention.

That way, working together, we can decide what's obsolete -- and then move beyond it.

And dealing with vendors? That's much easier. Just as users are about pain, vendors are about money. To negotiate a new meaning for obsolescence with them, we'll have to show them some green -- eventually -- and they'll have to make it worth our while.

That's a part of the IT business that will never be obsolete.

Frank Hayes, Computerworld's senior news columnist, has covered IT for more than 20 years. Contact him at frank_hayes@computerworld.com.