Several years ago, the television comedy sketch show Saturday Night Live occasionally featured "Nick Burns, Your Company's Computer Guy," an information technology nerd who berated his coworkers for their inability to solve what he considered to be easy computer problems.

Burns, played by actor Jimmy Fallon with a fuzzy, barely-there mustache and perpetually mussed hair, always left the co-workers he "helped" on a sarcastic note, swiveling at the doorway and uncorking a favorite line: "Oh, by the way, YOU'RE WELCOME!"

Sure, there are probably more than a few Burns-like IT folks still out there, but the majority play important - not to mention both customerand employee-oriented - roles in the workplace. Now consider a new, emerging role for the chief information officer, or CIO: long-term business strategist. No longer are CIOs expected to simply care for their companies' vast computer networks. With increased focus on retaining customers, boosting employees' capabilities and generating more revenue, CIOs are now expected to apply their computer knowledge to the long-term growth and strategic relevance of their companies.

 Microsoft Corp. CIO Stuart Scott knows all about it. He joined the software giant two years ago after a career with General Electric Co., where he built a reputation as a strong partner to executives. And several months ago, he met with CIOs from across the country at the Microsoft CIO Summit. The big topic was the changing role of information technology experts from foot soldiers to aidesde- camp of CEOs. Since joining Microsoft, Scott has initiated several programs that reflect the new role of CIOs. One of them - the Microsoft License Configurator - is a website that, among other things, enables customers to quickly and accurately obtain information about Microsoft's services and products, and to therefore make smart licensing decisions based on their own company's present and future needs.

"Technology is a way of amplifying your salesperson's effectiveness," Scott says. "It also amplifies the ability to reach new markets." And, he adds, "you can't have a salesperson in every place at every time; you can certainly make technology available anywhere, anytime."

 Microsoft Corp. isn't the only company embracing this trend. A recent Wall Street Journal story highlighted national research by Stamford, Conn.-based Gartner Inc., which showed that 50 percent of CIOs surveyed said they now have duties outside of core technology, such as helping to craft corporate strategy. That's up from about 20 percent three years ago.

Scott recommends CEOs think about the marketplace they're in, how technology affects it and, in those contexts, whether a CIO might be helpful in guiding the company toward long-term success. "That'll point you to a CIO candidate that has the right skill set," he says.

And who isn't Nick Burns.