CIOs: Going the way of the dinosaur?

It sounds unlikely, but the concept of the chief information officer could

be a thing of the past.

That is one possibility stemming from the changing role of technology experts

in public and private organizations, said C.D. Hobbs, senior vice president

and general manager of executive services at the Meta Group Inc.

In the early years of its existence, the CIO post was filled by an employee

from the information technology shop, working to deliver the applications

or systems architectures needed to support an organization's daily operations.

But the role of the technology expert is merging more and more with the

role of the operations or business manager, said Hobbs, speaking Monday

at the Government CIO Summit in Savannah, Ga.

Top management is looking for someone well-versed in business strategies

as well as technology architectures. The CIO, or its equivalent, may rise

in the ranks to fill that need, with the technically oriented requirement

met by something akin to the chief technology officer, Hobbs said.

In any case, whether or not the CIO name remains, "technologists who can

bridge technology into the business architecture are going to have insanely

interesting career opportunities," he said.