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Salesmanship is not a skill many IT directors, chief information officers or heads of technology possess, according to Ren&#233 Carayol, business transformation specialist, a former CIO and author of the management book Corporate Voodoo. "Having been an IT director myself for 10 years, I know most of us don't like to sell, or be sold to," he says.

But the role of the IT director has undergone considerable change, and it may now be necessary. Traditionally, the majority of IT directors have focused on technology - how they buy it, install it and support it, whereas now they must become more business aware and increasingly be able to 'sell' their technology projects to the board.

Some IT directors might disagree - it is a controversial point - but Carayol's point is timely. For most technology suppliers, the downturn in the economy means they have to sell harder than ever, while from the IT directors' perspective, this means that they have to become forceful negotiators in order to get the right deal. And because budgets are flat or falling, IT directors also have to market their own investments more aggressively to the board.

This represents a marked contrast from the late 1990s, according to Carayol, when an "unholy trinity" of heads of IT, technology suppliers and consultants contrived to take spending on technology to unprecedented levels. "In 1998 and 1999, organisations spent billions of pounds ensuring that their systems were year 2000-compliant, but nothing happened," explains Carayol. "The same thing happened during the dot-com boom, and we spent even more, often on technology from companies that wouldn't pass any level of scrutiny."

IT directors now - more than ever - have to show how an investment in technology can create cost savings or additional revenue, so they have to adapt their behaviour, believes Carayol. "Traditionally, organisations looked for very specific technical skills in their IT staff and directors, so they basically recruited a bunch of very bright introverts," he says. "Now they're asking for someone completely different - someone who is able to talk to the board."

This will take some time. Many organisations' IT departments still focus too heavily on the technology itself as opposed to the overall corporate picture. Carayol felt this was the case at many of the companies he met when researching his book, Corporate Voodoo. These laggards, as he calls them, tended to have very cautious corporate cultures and lacked real leadership.

In contrast, Carayol found that the 'winners' knew how to collaborate and to use partnerships to meet their goals. "Some of the more progressive CIOs have moved from being technology regulators to business enablers," he explains. Organisations that were prepared to give up technology projects to partners so they could focus instead on their core competencies tended to have greater success with technology.

"Technology is so integrated into the way businesses operate these days that it's become part of the DNA," Carayol concludes. "It's not about having an IT strategy anymore, it's about having a business strategy. [IT managers] have to have the courage to say 'This is what's right for the business and I'm prepared to put myself on the line for it.'"

Many IT directors have already made this transition. For those that have not, Carayol's message is hard-hitting, but may inspire them to consider more closely how their decisions impact the rest of the business as a whole.