The structure of your IT could possibly be a victim of the growing use of internet bandwidth for Web 2.0 based social networking sites. The process is irreversible but the only way out for you as an IT Head/CIO is to shape your IT policies accordingly.

The buzz from the Gartner summit held on 18th and 19th February 2008, was that consumer technology is now the cutting edge and businesses that fail to deploy it could eventually end up as losers over the next decade. Whit Andrews, Research VP, Gartner, speaking exclusively with Biztech2 said, "Rather than restricting or even banning these innovations, companies would do better to incorporate and experiment with them."

To cope with the proliferation of consumer technologies, Andrews advises businesses not to ban them or pretend they're not there. Instead, companies should experiment with the technologies to discover ways to take advantage of those most popular with the employees. CIOs need to think out of the box, especially how to make their work environment better rather than putting restrictions and spreading discontent.

In the closing session, Diane Morello, VP and Research Director, Gartner spoke on the challenges of finding the best for your organisation and most importantly, retaining talented manpower. According to a survey, Gartner anticipates that 60% of jobs will be unique to companies by 2012. Another one suggests that around 40% people affiliated with the IT organisation will have business and IT experience.

The growing levels of competition and the new and ugly regulatory race might want an employee to shift base every 2 years. However, the quest for talent is never ending and it is important for businesses to concentrate on key areas before employing the best people and then retaining them for a longer period.