In the wake of global job shifts and industry consolidations, IT directors need to expand their skill sets to stay relevant.

The writing is on the wall: to stay relevant in their organisations, IT leaders have to upgrade their skills and evolve as business leaders, not just technology specialists.

In the current economic downturn, the strategy of the moment for enterprises is cost cutting.
Offshore outsourcing, in particular, is becoming increasingly popular as companies look for ways to cut application development costs, reduce in-house technical headcount and hire highly skilled knowledge workers at lower wages.

In maturing industries, consolidation has also become commonplace. What followed Singapore?s United Overseas Bank?s acquisition of long-time rival Overseas Union Bank in 2001 was the removal of over 1,600 positions, including IT functions, to eliminate duplication.

The mega merger of technology giants Hewlett-Packard and Compaq Computer also shed more than 20,000 overlapping and redundant roles, including back-office and technical positions.

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