I hope that we can learn that when used correctly, IT is more than a cost center

I learned early on in my career that I only wanted to work for companies that look at technology as a source of profits. If a company sees the technology department as no different from the sales department, that was the company for me. It has been my secret to a happy career, later in my career when I had reached the level of an executive, I was a partner in a company that we exited to Hotels.com, when we did one of our business partners called me on the phone and asked me if I would entertain cleaning up their technology. I remember asking pretty bluntly, if I turn your technology department from a cost center into a profit center will you invest in it. Her response was along the lines of I would have to see it to believe it, but yes I would. We exited that company 2 years later. Moral of the story is, businesses can no longer afford to take the view that they are not a technology company, it has disrupted and infiltrated everything. For the majority of businesses technology is part of the game, if they are doing it badly they are not playing the game well, if technology is not in their market, it will be and if it's not a business can leverage that to their advantage now.