The software development department might envision a marvelous solution to the company's IT or business need, but the technology goal can't be achieved unless the Big Boss commits to the new strategy. How do you get there-and ensure that the user need really is filled? The key, say three former CIOs, is accurate business process requirements, a common language for the business and IT to communicate, and executive steering.
"It's what happens before a project gets to IT that often creates the challenges," says Brian Kilcourse, former CIO of Longs Drug Stores, and now a managing partner at Retail Systems Research.
While conflicting demands for IT resources and the propensity for a short-term view are significant challenges, he says, the most basic quality issue that IT efforts face is a lack of business involvement. "Businesses tend to think of IT efforts as separate from their overall strategic agenda, in spite of the fact that to a large extent it is a company's ability to use its digital assets effectively that distinguish winners from losers," he says.
Bob Doyle, former CIO of Alliant Foodservice (formerly Kraft Foodservice), agrees. "My major challenge-the reason I was brought in to five different companies in four distinct industries-was to enable major business change by implementing integrated IT application solutions that fundamentally changed the way the business operated. And do it as quickly as possible," says Doyle, who now runs a consulting firm. Management staff usually did not fully understand their role or responsibility in the development process, he says, so they felt no accountability. Plus, says Doyle, who has more than 30 years experience with Fortune 100 and smaller companies, company management had no process to involve, manage and set expectations.
For an IT strategy to succeed-or simply to sell the business on a major development project-you need full executive buy-in and support. Reports Kilcourse, a CIO friend of his said it simply: the most important word a CIO must learn is "No," and his most important skill is to say it when the business isn't ready to commit. "Top level guidance and visibility is an absolute must," Kilcourse adds.
Given the challenge, how does one address it?
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Ticked Off at Tick the Box Mentality 04 February, 2008 13:01:15
Does your executive search firm know the difference between an MIS manager and a CIO, and if it does, can it explain that difference to its corporate clients?Does your executive search firm know its MIS managers from its elbow? Does it even know the difference between an MIS manager and a CIO, and if it does, can it explain that difference to its corporate clients?
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- White PaperView this webcast and discover the drivers for changing network design practices, why many organisations are changing their approach to network architecture and how enterprises should be moving forward with open architecture multi-vendor network solutions. Register now and learn how your business can maximize the business value of the enterprise network.
- White PaperJoin Lee Benjamin, a Microsoft Exchange MVP and Ryan Shipkowski, network administrator for Matthews, to discuss the process and ROI of implementing an email archiving solution, with emphasis on a case study from Matthews International.
Discover how SOA can create smarter outcomes for your business.
Attend and learn:
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Click here for more information.
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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. - +
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CIO Live Podcast #76: Panasonic Speeds Up Trans-Pacific File Transfers, Part II 14 September, 2007 07:00:00
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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.
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Cybersecurity is focus of new start-up incubator 20 November, 2008 07:19:00
Texas uni announces the Institute for Cyber Security.The University of Texas at San Antonio Tuesday announced a technology incubator aimed at fostering IT security-based start-ups within the state. - +
Dilip Sarangan on Physical Security M&A 20 November, 2008 11:18:00
Dilip Sarangan tracks physical security companies for Frost & Sullivan. He expects the industry's "need to have" products to weather the economic storm well, with the big players (now including IBM and Cisco) looking for value-priced acquisitions. - +
International Challenges in PCI Security 20 November, 2008 09:15:00
In a country that's seen many regulatory compliance challenges this decade, the headaches of PCI security tend to be analyzed from a largely American perspective. - +
PCI council sharpens oversight of security auditors 19 November, 2008 10:53:00
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AARNet Brings 4K Digital Cinema to Australia: First 4K HD Video Signal delivered into Australia by AARNet 20 November, 2008 12:02:00
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Everything you need to know about email and web security (but were afraid to ask)
What you don’t know can destroy your business. It’s hard to imagine modern business without the internet but in the last few years it has become fraught with danger. Read on to discover how internet security can give your business a competitive advantage.
Buying Guides
Buying Guides
