Tag Archives: Business

Better supplier relations and smarter deals for CIOs

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CIOs say a principal part of their role is developing strong partnerships with external suppliers and internal colleagues. But what makes a good relationship and how do you maximise its effectiveness? My latest feature for silicon.com investigates:

Read the marketing bumf from most technology vendors and you would be forgiven for thinking that just about any technology system is a potential cure-all for the business’s ills.

Words such as ‘solution’ are allied to terms like ‘leverage’ to suggest a meaningful – but actually, meaningless – route to IT-enabled operations. If only IT could deliver everything that supplier’s promise. In most cases, it simply cannot.

“The industry’s not as bad as it was but there’s still an issue of over-promising,” says Neil Pamment, a technology veteran and IT director at legal firm Denton Wilde Sapte. With previous experience of working with vendors across various sectors, including manufacturing and healthcare, Pamment says over-zealous marketing assertions can create issues for CIOs.

For the full feature, click here.

Why there should be no such thing as an IT project

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Silicon has just published my analysis piece which suggests there should be no such thing as an IT project. The article quotes a number of CIOs and a link to the full article can be found beneath the following introduction:

“IT projects never really work,” says Mike Day, CIO at fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger. That seems like negative talk from a technology chief but there is sound method in the apparent madness.

More technology chiefs are waking up to the need for IT projects to be sponsored by the business. In cost-constrained times, CIOs are trying to avoid driving into a technology cul-de-sac. So rather than simply implementing IT projects, many CIOs are aiming to understand what executives need from the outset and meet agreed outcomes.

“The best ideas are sponsored by the business,” says Day. “Technology is now so pervasive through the organisation; it’s end-to-end. The CIO has to communicate to the business what is possible and why.”

For the full feature, click here.

Business intelligence equals better decision making

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Just over three quarters (78%) of CIOs think that business intelligence equals better decision making, according to this week’s CIO Connect poll.

The endorsing level of support tallies with IDC’s European Software Survey 2010 (see further reading, below), which suggests European organisations are planning an increase in spending on business intelligence (BI) products in 2010 compared to last year. The analyst says a third of companies will spend more on analytics than they did in 2009, although UK organisations are generally spending more on the basics of BI, rather than more advanced analytics.

That was a theme picked up by IT leaders responding to this week’s CIO Connect poll, many of whom noted the importance of analytics and analysis: “Data is turned into intelligence which can support effective decision making,” responded one CIO. “The quality of the analytics will certainly have a bearing on the quality of the decisions that it drives.”

Click here to read more…

Summer 2010 edition of CIO Connect magazine

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The summer 2010 edition of CIO Connect should be hitting IT leaders’ desks this week. Cover star is Deloitte UK partner and CIO Mary Hensher, a people person with a passion for the potential of IT to change business. Other articles include cloud computing, innovation, governance and a review of IT leadership from India.

As ever, thanks to all the CIOs, business leaders and technology experts who contributed their time and opinions. Below is a full list of featured participants:

  • Mary Hensher, Deloitte UK partner and CIO
  • Richard McGrail, head of IT at Baillie Gifford & Co
  • Steve Webster, IT director at Admiral Group
  • Peter Ingram, IT director at Addison Lee
  • Martin Ferguson, head of strategy at Socitm
  • David Hopkins, manager of business development at Siemens Enterprise Services
  • David Wilde, head of IT at Westminster City Council
  • Patrick Smith, local government client executive at IBM
  • Richard Mahony, director of telecoms research and analysis at Ovum
  • Philip Virgo, secretary general of the European Information Society Group
  • Ian Wilcox, principle IT consultant at Hampshire County Council
  • Peter Bassill, chief information security officer at gambling giant Gala Coral Group
  • Chris Head, principal associate at Socitm Insight
  • Robin Johnson, global CIO at Dell
  • Peter Breunig, CTO at Chevron
  • Mike Bevil, manager of IT Innovation at Merck
  • Ruth Spellman, chief executive at Chartered Management Institute
  • Zafar Chaudry, CIO at Alder Hey
  • Peter Bauer, chief executive at Mimecast
  • Rajendra S. Pawar, chairman of technology company NIIT
  • John Suffolk, UK government CIO
  • Saurabh Srivastava, chairman of CA
  • Filippo Passerini, president of global business services and CIO at Procter & Gamble
  • Dana Deasy, group CIO at BP
  • John Torrie, UK chief executive at Steria
  • Michael Gogola, director of information services at HCA International
  • Francis Jellings, head of IT at Virgin Trains
  • John Robinson, group IT director at Morse
  • Mark Foulsham, head of IT at insurance specialist esure
  • Stuart McGill, CTO at Micro Focus
  • Maurice van Sabben, president of National Geographic Television International
  • David Head, director of LFA
  • Adrian Joseph, Google’s European managing director
  • Dominic Batchelor, partner at Ashurst LLP
  • Inbali Iserles, professional development lawyer at Ashurst LLP
  • Danièle Tyler, solicitor at Ashurst LLP

Spring 2010 edition of CIO Connect magazine

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The spring 2010 edition of CIO Connect magazine was printed and posted during my recent paternity leave. The magazine hoasts the usual mix of business IT features and leadership profiles, including extended articles on sustainability, social media and leadership success.

As ever, thanks to all the CIOs, business leaders and technology experts who contributed their time and opinions. Below is a full list of featured participants (in order of appearance):

  • Natasha Davydova, group head of strategy for global technology and operations for Standard Chartered
  • Jody Goodall, head of research and development at Trader Media
  • Omar Haque, managing director at AxiomCSG and formerly consultant at RS Components
  • Dave Fleming, head of ecommerce and innovation at Shop Direct
  • Andrew Abboud, CIO at City University London
  • Professor Lee Schlenker, chair of emerging economies and technologies at EM Lyon Business School
  • Scott Herren, managing director and vice president at Citrix
  • Ian Pratt, vice president for advanced products at Citrix and chairman of Xen
  • David Head, director of La Fosse Associates
  • Dominic Batchelor, senior associate at Ashurst LLP
  • Inbali Iserles, professional development lawyer at Ashurst LLP
  • Danièle Tyler, solicitor at Ashurst LLP
  • Robin Johnson, CIO at Dell
  • Stephen hand, CIO at Lloyd’s Register
  • Alistair Russell, advisory services director at CIO Connect
  • Maggie Berry, managing director at womenintechnology.co.uk
  • Bobby Cameron, principal analyst at Forrester
  • David Southern, head of IT at WWF UK
  • Phil Collard, head of business and operational support at Scottish and Southern Energy
  • Tony Young, CIO at Informatica
  • Steve Palmer, CIO at London Borough of Hillingdon and President of Socitm
  • Lorie Buckingham, CIO at Avaya
  • Les Taylor, director for business development and IS at the Disposal Services Authority (DSA)
  • Robbert Kuppens, European CIO at Cisco
  • Dan Matthews, CTO at IFS
  • Myron Hrycyk, CIO at Severn Trent
  • Jane Kimberlin, IT director at Domino’s Pizza Group
  • Phil Durbin, head of IT at UNICEF UK
  • Matthew Pontefract, CTO at Glasses Direct
  • Alistair Cox, chief executive at Hays
  • Ian Woosey, IT director at Carpetright
  • Heather Corby, HR director of BT Innovate and Design
  • Eachan Fletcher, CIO at Sporting Index
  • Ian Cohen, CIO at Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group

Will auditors allow your data to reside in the cloud?

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While I was away on paternity leave, Computer Weekly published my feature on cloud computing, security and audit trails. Here’s the intro, with a link to the full article below:

“Do you fear the auditor more or the attacker?” asks Peter Bassill, chief information security officer at gambling giant Gala Coral Group.

It is a key question for IT leaders thinking of dabbling in on-demand computing provision through the cloud. For Bassill, there is only one answer, particularly for firms operating in highly regulated sectors: “A lot of companies fear the auditor more. If you hold data internally, you can show the auditor your controls, but the cloud makes such demonstrations more difficult.”

The resulting complications mean many businesses still shy away from on-demand IT. About 40% of UK companies use cloud computing systems, according to the Information Systems Audit and Control Association. This represents a significant proportion of British organisations, but implementation levels – certainly with regards to large-scale enterprise systems – are nowhere near matching the cacophonous intensity of supplier hype.

For the full feature, click here.

Cost-cutting CIOs call on the executive team

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IT leaders value the opinions of executive and IT team peers when it comes to cost cutting, according to CIO Connect research.

Cost savings continue to be a major priority for IT leaders. Recent research from CIO Connect suggests that cost remains a key business priority for 2010, despite the increased importance of strategies for growth.

And an additional poll from CIO Connect shows that most IT leaders are likely to consider the views of executive and departmental peers when calculating potential cost savings. In both cases, as much as 50% of CIOs suggest the views of either the executive board, or the IT team, are most important.

Click here to read more…

As a CIO, how is your relationship with the FD?

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We’re putting the feelers out for some new research at CIO Connect. The research addresses the relationship between the finance director and CIO – if you’re an IT leader, we’d love to hear from you. Here’s the blurb:

Do you sometimes feel like you’re playing Oliver to your FD’s Mr Bumble? Or have the tough economic conditions provided an opportunity for you to work closely together on IT-driven efficiencies to help cut operational fat?

CIOs expecting budget increase in 2010 are among the lucky few. Only one third are anticipating a bigger slice of the pie, according to a recent survey by analyst group Ovum, and even then expectations are slim – an increase of between just 1% and 5%. Meanwhile, CIOs taking part in a Gartner survey at the beginning of the year said they are planning on IT budgets in 2010 mirroring 2005 levels.

The recession has left its scar and many FDs are wary the economy could bite again in the face of high unemployment and the UK debt burden. Understandably, they are reluctant to dish out more from the organisational pot. With FDs under pressure to keep finances tight, and CIOs hit with greater demands to do more with less, how does this challenging dynamic impact your working relationship?

We are carrying out a survey to discover just how the vital partnership between CIO and FD is working in the current economic climate. Click here to find out more and to participate in the survey.

The FD, the CIO and the implementation of cloud computing

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I’ve just written a feature for Financial Director, which shows that cloud computing has received mixed reviews but can save the FD and CIO money:

The terminology associated with the dark art of business technology can sometimes make finance directors feel as if they are back at school. Bamboozled by a series of buzzwords developed by the technical clique, they could be forgiven for tuning out when the chief information officer (CIO) begins bending their ear.

But the baffling jargon associated with IT obfuscates a business necessity; technology is changing the way business operates and the finance function is not immune to such transformation. What is more, the changes associated with cloud computing – the latest hyped-up killer app in technology – are potentially the most far-reaching yet.

Moving all your databases, systems and software onto an internet-based platform rather than running it through expensive hardware platforms, cloud computing breaks the traditional and costly model of IT purchasing and implementation. Rather than being tied to rigid licensing models for under-used technology, it allows the business to make use of an internet-enabled form of technology provision…

For the full feature, click here.

Leadership is the most important characteristic for CIOs

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Remember when IT leaders used to be more interested in bits and bytes than business benefits? Those days are long-gone, if the results of this week’s CIO Connect poll are to be believed.

None of the responding IT leaders said that they believed being a technologist is the most important characteristic for a modern CIO. So, what characteristic should CIOs ensure is uppermost in their executive tool kit?

CIO Connect members stressed the importance of leadership, with 81% of respondents suggesting the characteristic is all-important. It is probably not a surprising result; CIO Connect’s content and events regularly refer to the need to control important business initiatives.

Click here to read more…