New model for internal IT services is emerging, says new report

UK: The IT landscape is changing too fast-thanks to mobility, computing-as-a-service, process automation-for CIOs to keep up with line-of-business technology needs.

To gain more flexibility to respond to changing market conditions, LOBs and CIOs are moving towards a "blended model" of IT service delivery that merges internal IT capabilities with third-party services, according to a new report by The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

A blended future: The changing mix of IT service delivery and consumption, sponsored by EMC, surveyed over 200 business executives worldwide-41 percent of whom are CIOs and 59 percent LOBs.

The survey and in-depth interviews reveal that business units are taking greater control over the IT services used in their operations and decision-making: 46 percent of LOBs obtain external technology services because comparable services from internal IT are unavailable or take too long to deploy. Another 46 percent of LOBs want an IT services catalogue that lists internal and external capabilities available to business units.

Going forward, CIOs and LOBs see partnerships among internal IT, lines of business and third-party providers as the standard way to do business. By almost a 3 to 1 margin, LOBs prefer that IT broker services rather than contract for them directly.