My latest piece for TechRepublic shows how even though many finance chiefs seem to think the days of the CIO role may be numbered, IT leaders still have a number of options to strengthen their hand:
The headline figures make grim reading for IT professionals hoping to build a long-term career as a CIO. Almost one in five CFOs thinks the CIO role will disappear within five years, according to new research.
Worse, the survey of 203 key financial decision-makers by IT specialist Getronics and consultancy Loudhouse suggests 43 per cent of CFOs believe the IT leadership role will inevitably merge with the top finance position.
So, how can CIOs ensure their role does not become redundant? Here are five top tips from IT leaders and finance chiefs.
To read the rest of the feature, please click here.
The pressure on CIOs to make telling business improvements quickly is increasing – I recently presented five ways for IT leaders to make a mark in an article for TechRepublic:
What once took years now takes weeks. The fast-pace of technological development, supported by on-demand computing and the consumerisation of IT, means enterprise technology can now be adopted and used more quickly than ever before. So, how long do CIOs need to make their mark on an organisation?
IT strategy cycles traditionally run somewhere between three and five years. That schedule is consistent with tenures in the IT C-suite, with analyst Gartner reporting that the average time a CIO spends in post is four years and four months.
However, contract lengths vary considerably between sectors and nations. The Government Accountability Office, for example, reports the average tenure of government sector CIOs in the US is as low as two years. TechRepublic spoke to IT experts and got five top tips for how CIOs can act strategically in a digital age.
To read the rest of the feature, please click here.
My interview with Ian Watmore for Guardian Government Computing, where the Cabinet Office permanent secretary talks about IT’s role in public sector projects, social media for citizen engagement and how the government is a hacking trophy:
Former government chief information officer (CIO) Ian Watmore might be new to the position of Cabinet Office permanent secretary, but he still recognises that digital technology presents a significant opportunity for the government to engage with citizens and shape the future of public services.
Watmore, who spent the last year or so operating as the chief operating officer for the government’s Efficiency and Reform Group, was recently appointed to his current role to help fill the leadership void following Sir Gus O’Donnell’s retirement from the role of cabinet secretary.
“The new generation of politicians really understand technology,” says Watmore. “It’s a business issue that is on the top table in every department in Whitehall.”
The elevated position of technology, according to Watmore, has been inspired by the increasing digital element of public policy and the growing desire of UK citizens to access public information online.
To read the rest of the feature, please click here.
Sainsbury’s head of IT Rob Fraser knows that if you talk data centres and servers, you’ll lose your audience. So he’s been focusing on communication and the business skills of his tech staff, as he explained to me in a feature for silicon.com:
Rob Fraser, head of IT and a member of the operating board at retail giant Sainsbury’s, has worked hard since his appointment in July 2009 to ensure the resources of the inhouse technology team match the key objectives of the business. Crucially, the core of his attempt to meet such aims is people rather than simply technology.
Fraser says former CIO Angela Morrison put a lot of effort into reintegrating inhouse staff, following a period of outsourcing with service provider Accenture at the start of the century. The engagement of the firm’s 500 inhouse IT staff remains a critical priority.
“Our IT team complete the upfront tasks that make sure business outcomes are met,” says Fraser. “We don’t want technologists. We want people with an understanding of how retail works. The strategy and planning will support our great IT people. We want the dynamic to continually evolve from push to pull, so the business can always come to us for great ideas on what to do next.”
To read the rest of the feature, please click here.