It does not seem that long ago that the major complaint was of IT directors rarely having a seat on the company board.

Technology is no longer an optional extra, was Computing’s oft-repeated refrain. IT decisions must not only be made at the highest level, but are an unavoidable element of every strategic consideration.

Thankfully, that particular drum no longer needs quite so much banging. The majority of IT directors are now chief information officers (CIOs), with a place in the boardroom.

Even the public sector has caught up, with the Whitehall CIO Council providing a much-needed forum for technology-enabled business strategy.

In fact, things have now moved along so far that even the CIO role is sometimes viewed as obsolete.

With major technology infrastructure upgrades completed, some big names ­ such as Boots and House of Fraser ­ have scrapped the CIO position altogether. The IT manager can run the systems, and the top-level strategy and business accountability has been absorbed into the wider role of the finance director.

In this context, Sumitomo Mitsui’s creation of a single post taking charge of all aspects of security is an interesting development.

For a bank that nearly lost £220m to a two-pronged heist, an integrated system to run physical and electronic security ­ that links door passes and CCTV with PC access profiles and network tracking ­ is a sensible move, the result of a lesson well-learned.

But, in a wider context, it is also the logical next step to accepting that there are no IT decisions, only business decisions. In such an environment, it makes little sense to treat buildings and filing cabinets differently from PCs and databases.

There will always be a need for technology experts. But what business still needs the most is the ability to see technology as a part of everyday life. Consumers are increasingly behaving that way, now business needs to catch up.