Thursday | 8 January, 2009
CIO
The Secrets of C-Suite Success
Do you have what it takes to be a strategic CIO? A CEO?
Carrie Mathews 03 September, 2007 13:27:05

CIO: Would you hire a CIO without a technical background?

King: I was thinking about that question last night. I have no idea how to answer. If I had a really strong CTO, which I do have, I'd be more inclined to do that.

Kalia: CIOs today have to have mastery of their technology discipline. If they didn't, they could make some very poor decisions and not exercise judgement that is in the best interest of the corporation. It's very easy to be confused by different knowledge sources and not have experience to fall back on. CIOs have developed that gut from being in the trenches. If we have a CTO who can do all that, it does free up the CIO, as in my case, to do other things.

CIO: Someone made a comment yesterday that a CIO doesn't have to have a technology background as long as they ask the right questions. Why can't CEOs ask those questions?

King: The CEO role is so external nowadays that you don't always have the time and space to think deeply about those questions you're talking about.

CIO: So even as CEOs become more conversant in technology, companies still need someone who's going to be really focusing on that area?

King: Absolutely.

CIO: Kumud, what has it been like working with other business and functional leaders to get them to understand what you do and what the company is doing with technology?

Kalia: I'm not sure they still do understand, but they're much more trusting.

CIO: How'd you get them to trust you?

Kalia: I don't know. I just started doing stuff, and it seemed to work with them. I didn't have a strategy for winning over my colleagues. They were very welcoming [of me] to start with. They accepted that there was a void that needed to be filled and let me spread in there without challenging me, though they did ask what's this going to do for me and for my business. I didn't talk about technology, but about the application of the technology.

King: Explaining his mission in terms the rest of us can understand was really pivotal. That's what Kumud brought to the table. We're seeing successful outcomes from some of those approaches.

Featured Whitepaper Sponsors
Market Place
 

Smart SOA World Tour

Discover how SOA can create smarter outcomes for your business.

Attend and learn:

  • How SOA is helping leading companies to become more agile
  • Where you should be applying SOA processes in your company
  • The top SOA implementation mistakes to avoid

Click here for more information.
  • +

    CIO Live Podcast #79: Brent D Taylor, author of The Outsider's Edge: The Making of Self-Made Billionaires Part II 05 October, 2007 06:00:00

    For his new book, The Outsider's Edge: The Making of Self-Made Billionaires, social researcher Brent D Taylor spent four years of intensive research investigating the psychological make-up and backgrounds of some of the world's richest men and women, including IT luminaries Bill Gates, Larry Ellison and Steve Jobs. Taylor discovered that, despite working in different industries and coming from different upbringings, they all have one thing in common -- they are all outsiders.
  • +

    CIO Live Podcast #78: Brent D Taylor, author of The Outsider's Edge: The Making of Self-Made Billionaires 28 September, 2007 17:34:25

    For his new book, The Outsider's Edge: The Making of Self-Made Billionaires, social researcher Brent D Taylor spent four years of intensive research investigating the psychological make-up and backgrounds of some of the world's richest men and women, including IT luminaries Bill Gates, Larry Ellison and Steve Jobs. Taylor discovered that, despite working in different industries and coming from different upbringings, they all have one thing in common -- they are all outsiders.
  • +

    CIO Live Podcast #77: Panasonic Speeds Up Trans-Pacific File Transfers, Part III 21 September, 2007 07:00:00

    Part three in our three-part special report from CIO's sister publication Network World in the US, as Paul Desmond reports from the Network World IT Roadmap Conference in Santa Clara, California. With development teams in the US and Japan, Panasonic needed a more efficient way to move very large files between the two locations. Iben Rodriguez, IT consultant for Panasonic Research and Development, explains how a storage-area network and virtual server technology helped speed up WAN performance.
  • +

    CIO Live Podcast #76: Panasonic Speeds Up Trans-Pacific File Transfers, Part II 14 September, 2007 07:00:00

    Part two in our three-part special report from CIO's sister publication Network World in the US, as Paul Desmond reports from the Network World IT Roadmap Conference in Santa Clara, California. With development teams in the US and Japan, Panasonic needed a more efficient way to move very large files between the two locations. Iben Rodriguez, IT consultant for Panasonic Research and Development, explains how a storage-area network and virtual server technology helped speed up WAN performance.
  • +

    CIO Live Podcast #75: Panasonic Speeds Up Trans-Pacific File Transfers, Part I 07 September, 2007 07:00:05

    Part one in our three-part special report from CIO's sister publication Network World in the US, as Paul Desmond reports from the Network World IT Roadmap Conference in Santa Clara, California. With development teams in the US and Japan, Panasonic needed a more efficient way to move very large files between the two locations. Iben Rodriguez, IT consultant for Panasonic Research and Development, explains how a storage-area network and virtual server technology helped speed up WAN performance.
  • +

    Data breaches rose sharply in 2008, says study 08 January, 2009 08:27:00

    More than 35 million data records were breached in 2008, according to the Identity Theft Resource Center.
    More than 35 million data records were breached in 2008 in the U.S., a figure that underscores continuing difficulties in securing information, according to the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC).
  • +

    Rogue SSL certificate exploit puts VeriSign on the spot 07 January, 2009 11:04:00

    Wishes "white hat" researchers had notified VeriSign before public demo.
    Following the success of researchers last week in creating a false SSL certificate based on VeriSign's RapidSSL brand, the company is scrambling to explain how it happened, how it's preventing it from reoccurring, and whether its other SSL certificate-generation services are at risk.
  • +

    With Gaza conflict, cyberattacks come too 05 January, 2009 08:03:00

    Pro-Palestinian hackers have defaced thousands of sites following attacks in Gaza.
    The conflict raging in Gaza between Israel and Palestine has spilled over to the Internet.
  • +

    5 ways to secure your Blackberry 18 December, 2008 12:58:00

    What do Tom Cruise and the McCain campaign have in common? They have both been bitten by the loss of a Blackberry. Mobile expert Dan Hoffman gives advice on how to keep your cherished mobile device safe, even if it's out of your hands
    What do Tom Cruise and the McCain campaign have in common? They have both been bitten by the loss of a Blackberry. Mobile expert Dan Hoffman gives advice on how to keep your cherished mobile device safe, even if it's out of your hands.
  • +

    Wireless VPNs: Protecting the wireless wanderer 18 December, 2008 11:04:00

    Employees sipping café Java over their wireless laptops may think a VPN makes them safe and secure. With careful configuration, there's some chance they're right
    Employees sipping café Java over their wireless laptops may think a VPN makes them safe and secure. With careful configuration, there's some chance they're right.
CIO Webcast Innovation #8 - What are the biggest roadblocks to IT's involvement in innovation at your company?
Watch the latest latest edition of CIO Innovation which is now available for download.
Watch the webcast
Sign up to the CIO Innovation update email


CIO Live Podcast #79: Brent D Taylor, author of The Outsider's Edge: The Making of Self-Made Billionaires Part II
Listen to the latest edition of CIO Live which is now available for download.
Listen to the podcast
Sign up to the CIO Live email
Whitepaper

How to improve employee productivity in small and medium businesses

U.S. businesses lose 5.4 billion productive hours through employees searching for information annually. Avoid the same inefficiencies occurring in your business. Read on to discover the productivity issues facing SMBs and how the Oracle Application Express (APEX) can improve employee productivity and enhance development efficiencies.