AITP CIO Forums Confirm Need for New Standards for IT Professionals.

CHICAGO -- The Association of Information Technology Professionals (AITP), a worldwide society of information technology professionals, held four CIO Forums that confirmed the demand for new standards of practice for information technology professionals.

The need calls for a defined profession, career path, standards of practice, core competencies and body of knowledge that will serve as a foundation for professionals, combining information technology and business acumen.

"IT professionals have always believed we're not just 'IT people', that we live and thrive within our business organizations," said CIO Forum facilitator Barb Spurway, an AITP member and principal consultant for Protegra, a business and technology solutions firm. "The CIO Forums validated the need for professionals to become proficient in business strategy and practices to better serve our businesses. AITP is taking great strides to achieve our association's strategic goal of developing an IT Business Practitioner Profession."

The CIO Forums were held in April and May in Dallas, TX, Raleigh, NC, San Diego, CA, and Chicago, IL, and gathered dozens of CIOs from leading organizations around the U.S. "To augment our research, it was imperative we facilitate discussions with executive leaders from Corporate America," said AITP President Deborah Lovell. "By combining our wealth of expertise from our professional and academia members with these executive leaders, we are able to fully define the attributes of a technology business professional and the educational path required."

The forums are one of the initial steps in meeting AITP's strategic direction for developing a distinct IT professionalism framework, equivalent in prestige and structure to other established professions such as law, accountancy, and medicine.

AITP next steps include activating the newly-established AITP Profession Advisory Council (APAC) - comprised of volunteers in the industry, academia, and research who will steward the development of the Professionalism Framework, set skill standards, and develop the components for the IT Business Practitioner.

"In recognition of the fact that information technology is deeply embedded into all aspects of business, AITP is responding to the future needs of its professional membership," said Dave Kamath, CIO of IDEX Corporation. "Delivering tailored programs and services will enable IT professionals to become a more effective business leader."

For more information about APAC, contact [e-mail].

About AITP

Association of Information Technology Professionals (AITP) is a worldwide association dedicated to promoting and evolving the technical and business skills of the information technology professional, to fostering the profession of information technology, and providing leadership opportunities in the Information Technology community. Established in 1951, AITP today is comprised of professionals, academicians, and university students in the Information Technology industry. For more information, visit www.aitp.org.