IT management models have come and gone as IT's role in the enterprise has moved from mostly support to being a critical partner with business in increasing productivity and innovation. Three McKinsey & Company thinkers-Roger Roberts, Hugo Sarrazin and Johnson Sikes-have laid out their view of a new management model for IT that requires broader leadership, governance and organizational changes, as well as different management skills. This model incorporates two facets the authors call Factory IT and Enabling IT.

 

As they describe it, Factory IT "encompasses the bulk of an organization's IT activities, applying lessons from the production floor-scale, standardization, and simplification-to drive efficiency, optimize delivery, and lower unit costs." Likewise, Enabling IT is "focused on helping organizations respond more effectively to changing business needs and gain a competitive advantage by spurring innovation and growth."