I’m a manager in an IT department at a company focused on R&D. My background is a mix of R&D and IT. Right now I lead teams across data engineering, BI, software development and integrations.

The company I work for will create a separate Data & AI department outside of IT, focused on data engineering, data science, and AI. This will be led by a newly appointed Data Director. The IT department will then shrink and focus more on traditional areas like infra, ITops, security, etc. A large part of my current teams will move into the new Data department, while I will stay on the IT side.

This change is mainly driven by business dissatisfaction with IT. The main complaints are slow delivery and inefficiency. Leadership firmly believes that investing it IT won’t solve these issues.

As a result, my role feels smaller and less clearly defined. I’m concerned about becoming less relevant, so I’m trying to figure out how to reposition myself over the next 6–12 months. Ideally I’d like to stay relevant internally, but also strengthen my profile in case I need to leave the company.

For those who have been through a similar split: what should I focus on in the coming months? What skills or areas should I invest in?

Thanks in advance.