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The IT department has lost its way and is surrounded by doubt concerning its ability to adapt and support new technologies. Fuelled by the adoption of SaaS services, this has led to the quiet fear of redundancies. Has IT and the Help Desk failed in assuming the role of managing passwords, logins and the countless subscriptions to dormant services?

New services such as cloud, service catalogues and app stores present an opportunity for the IT department to become the strategic core of business operations. With this realisation, slowly but surely, IT staff are embracing the very technologies which have (arguably) restricted them, and employee support is returning to its true place: IT as a Service.

People Management
As more businesses embrace cloud services to cut costs, increase efficiency and influence business growth, the IT department should be the best positioned to take advantage. Its core function is the support of people and the business, promoting the services that can help the organisation.

The SaaS market is set to be worth over $30 billion by 2015 as businesses continue to embrace cloud technologies. The key to riding the wave for IT staff is to provide expert insight and knowledge as to what benefits can be gained through adoption. As a result, outsourcing is becoming the norm, including the help desk. IT experts are now becoming negotiators, managers and advisors and assuming the role of brokers.

Whilst many still need to catch up, the IT help desk is moving away from its more traditional tactical role to something more strategic. This new model works across all business functions from procurement to HR, taking centre stage in their decision-making processes. Enterprises are making significant technological changes that require consistent support, monitoring and staff training.

Starting from the bottom up
Employees are involved in driving this change with expectation conditioned by their use and experience of personal app stores. If employers don't provide users with access to technologies that enable staff to do their job effectively, they will obtain them elsewhere, regardless of policies, licenses and security.

Whilst the traditional help desk may be moving offshore, the IT department is integral to successful cloud adoption. It reduces the amount of unmanaged services that would inevitably lead to cloud sprawl - or one very big mess.

But what services are the most valuable and what exactly is the role of IT in the new age of workplace computing? An obvious conclusion and an industry hot topic is the trend of BYOD, and according to Gartner 90 per cent of businesses already deploy mobile devices.

An effective appstore or self-service catalogue will hand control back to IT, working across all operational areas in its efficiency to manage requests from the mobile workforce. Cloud-based Workspace and Enterprise app stores allow business users to have apps and data as required, delivered on demand by selected business-critical secure applications, based on access to products that will support the mobile strategy. Implementing such services increases control and compliance with CIOs and IT staff becoming the owners of data processes and employee password, license and subscription management.

Whilst this all sounds like a dream come true, IT staff and CIOs need to be well versed in SaaS services if they are to become indispensable, as well as being involved in valuable business innovations. Businesses that can overcome the challenges surrounding new service adoption will see IT return to its roots and emerge as a true innovator. IT can then contribute to businesses growth and success, leading the strategic acquisition and deployment of essential new business-centred services.