Research from Atlanta-based Hackett Group indicates that the need to quantify the value of IT's contribution to the enterprise is becoming more key to CIOs who aspire to a higher executive role. Hackett researchers believe that over the next five years, CIOs will either evolve into fully accepted "business partners" at the leadership team level, or senior business leadership will make strategic IT decisions and delegate execution to a de facto "COO of IT."
Source: Baseline, http://www.baselinemag.com