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By Dominic Maher, 29 August 2000 00:15

NEWS IT departments will replace the finance function as the most influential part of any company's operations within five years. This is according to one of the guests on this week's Big Question programme, which polled a number of IT directors about the future of the IT department. Ray Barton, MIS manager at Barcardi UK, said: "The IT department will be one of the biggest in any organisation. The future leads to technology so therefore the IT department is going to be the controlling department for overall business." But IT departments can only reach these giddy heights if they become leaner, and are more flexible to the needs of the business. Bob Harvey, head of IT at Barnardo's, said: "I expect the IT department in five years' time to be considerably slimmer than it currently is. We need to develop closer relationships with key suppliers so that we are outsourcing more and more than we are today." Tony Jackson, information systems manager at Allied Bakeries, said this will only be done if IT managers get out of their department and learn about the business as a whole. He said: "I think the IT manager has got to be more flexible in his approach to understanding business and understanding the cost and drivers in terms of the technology they are required to support." But Tim Wickes, council member of Elite, the IT professionals' association, pointed out the need for balance in any organisation: "IT will not take away the basic skills of running a company. The role of the IT director is to ensure company information is properly protected and to supply what is needed. IT is an enabler. You cannot sell by IT. IT is integrated with all parts of the business - but it won't replace them." This week's Big Question can be seen in the Desktop Strategies channel (http://www.silicon.com/a39327 ).