One of the more perplexing conundrums, and an area where the answers should be clearer, is the challenge of finding enough highly skilled technologists. "The shortage of IT talent is a major challenge to staying competitive," lamented one P100 honoree in a panel discussion. But where IT sees a shortage, the public may have a different view.

In the broadest sense, there is no shortage. Technically speaking, there is exactly enough trained IT talent in the U.S. market to fill all available positions at the current salary levels. That doesn't mean that the labor market isn't tight or that it's not difficult to find a qualified engineer in Plano, Texas. But those who put all of the blame on public schools, higher education and a lack of interest by the next generation are forgetting something: Students have always poured into the most lucrative and promising careers. If IT salaries doubled tomorrow, college students might give IT another look and start switching majors; the flow of newly minted technologists would quickly increase.

If only it were that easy. Money is just part of the solution. Today's students need to know that IT is a viable long-term career path. Unfortunately, industry and the media have been complicit in propagating the myth that IT is a dead end. First, the dot-com crash shattered the illusion that those in high-tech jobs would always emerge from economic turbulence unscathed. Now, students are hearing that a four-year degree in programming or engineering doesn't matter because all of those jobs will eventually go offshore to foreign workers at very low wages. A generation has been dissuaded from pursuing what is in reality a very promising career choice. But they shouldn't have been, and here's why:

IT has become vital to business profitability. At Harrah's Entertainment, for example, projects that are part of an ongoing operational CRM initiative are producing a higher internal rate of return than would adding buildings and infrastructure, and the CRM projects are generating revenue increases of 10 percent to 50 percent. Those initiatives depend on IT, including data warehouse and business intelligence technologies.

The fast pace of technological change keeps IT careers interesting. As the costs of processing power, storage and connectivity continue to drop, more and more business processes are being auto-mated. IT is and will continue to be a growing part of business.