Since the days of punch cards, IT has believed itself to be guardian of precious computing resources against attacks from non-technical barbarians known as "users." This arrogant attitude, born of once-practical necessity in the era of early data centers, reflects an inability to adapt to present-day realities. Such attitudes, combined with recent technological and social changes, are <A HREF="http://blogs.zdnet.com/projectfailures/?p=666&tag=nl.e550">pushing IT to share the fate of long-extinct dinosaurs.</A>

While IT's demise won't happen overnight, the trend is clear. Here's why.