According to Saunders, the perception of IT within Southcorp varies greatly. He says that at the senior levels in the businesses it's viewed much more strategically now than it was three years ago and that it is recognised as a key enabler and critical component of future success. He finds this is particularly the case in the Wine group, given the complexity of the business.

Ironically, though, Saunders believes it was the "dotcom crash" that really brought the potential and importance of IT to the attention of boards, even more so than Y2K, because it provided the opportunity for people like himself to educate top executives on such issues.

In fact, Saunders, who reports to Southcorp's CFO, has found his time with the company a great learning experience. It has helped him understand a lot more about how boards think, how they make decisions, what's important to them and what's not, as well as to gain a greater understanding of business models and how they work.

He says the most exciting aspect of the job was leading Southcorp's drive into e-commerce two years ago. Initially this was to provide its customers with better information and capabilities. However, the second step, which he says the company is moving towards, will enable them to track orders, both domestic and international, and eventually order online.

Managing the service providers has not been the biggest challenge for Saunders; rather it is getting each of the businesses to agree on a single strategy as they move forward. He thinks the key to being a successful CIO is to be viewed by the business leaders as their trusted consultant in all IT matters.

"It's also important to understand that you're responsible for ensuring your business environment is secure, that it can't be attacked and can survive a disaster, and to have people accountable for those governance issues. It's equally important as the CIO to be objective and not necessarily protect the status quo," Saunders concludes.