Tag Archives: Sainsbury’s

Sainsbury’s IT chief: Why communication is key to IT success

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.

The digital agenda is now the business agenda

The last few months of 2011 provided an inspiring call to action for all those connected to networking and advisory organisation CIO Connect, and represented a bright counterbalance to the doom and gloom of broader macro-economic pronouncements.

While political and business leaders around the world fought to stabilise the global economy, CIO Connect sought best practice evidence to show how technology can help drive continued efficiency gains in the public and private sector.

Early foresight came at the annual conference in October and left attendees with a sense of how the rise of consumer IT means the role of technology leadership in the modern organisation has never been more crucial.

Further evidence of the significance of the digital agenda came in the weeks following the conference, as CIO Connect magazine secured exclusive interviews with two of the most important men in UK IT.

Issue 37 cover star Rob Fraser of Sainsbury’s provided a string of examples to demonstrate how the retail giant is using technology to create innovative projects that help the business meet stringent targets and deliver ever-improving service for the customer.

Cabinet Office permanent secretary Ian Watmore, meanwhile, took time from his hectic schedule to outline to CIO Connect how he and his colleagues are using technology to help push transformation in central government, an initiative that is producing lasting benefits in terms of efficiencies and cost savings.

Both interviews proved one thing above all else: the digital agenda is now the business agenda and every organisation, whether public or private, needs an expert at the helm that can help make the right decisions regarding technology deployment.

Economic stagnation continues to be accompanied by technological development and 2012 is likely to see more pressure for innovative approaches around a number of key areas, such as cloud computing, social media and information management. The CIO must be ready.

The above editorial introduced the recently released edition (issue 37) of CIO Connect magazine

Issue 37 of CIO Connect magazine

The winter edition (issue 37) of CIO Connect was posted during the Christmas break. The magazine features two particularly big hitters from private and public sector IT, both of who’s best practice will help shape technology transformation through 2012.

Cover star Rob Fraser,  head of IT at retail giant Sainsbury’s, explains how a successful strategy ensures technology skills are connected to business objectives.

And in an exclusive interview, recently-appointed Cabinet Office permanent secretary Ian Watmore says the increasing importance of technology means good leadership is more crucial than ever before. As usual, thanks to all participants and contributors:

  • Ian Watmore, permanent secretary at the Cabinet Office
  • Rob Fraser, head of IT at retail giant Sainsbury’s
  • Hakan Carlbom, CIO at EQT
  • Peter Erceg, chief security officer for UK mobile operator Everything Everywhere
  • Katherine Coombs, IT director and information security officer at buyingTeam
  • Andrew Bover, head of ICT at 1st Credit
  • Bill Limond, CIO at the City of London
  • Piergiorgio Grossi, IT director of the Ferrari Formula 1 racing team
  • Eugene Buyakin, chief operating officer at Kaspersky Lab
  • Alexander Erofeev, director of market intelligence and insight at Kaspersky Lab
  • Christian Christiansen, vice president at researcher IDC
  • Phil Everson, leader of the IT effectiveness team of Deloitte
  • Matt Peers, CIO at Deloitte
  • Sandeep Phanasgoankar, president and CTO of Reliance Capital
  • Chris Webber, senior editor at the Economist Intelligence Unit
  • Sheree Lacy, programme transformation director at BT
  • Steve Sturr, executive director of global services at Dell
  • Julian Self, group operations and IT director at IPD
  • Wayne Smith, head of IS at Birmingham Airport
  • John Bates, CTO at Progress Software
  • Frank Land, former chief consultant at LEO
  • Jim Norton, president of the British Computer Society.
  • Geoff Colvin, writer and Fortune senior editor
  • Nick Kirkland, chief executive at CIO Connect
  • Alistair Russell, advisory practice director at CIO Connect
  • Dominic Batchelor, partner at Ashurst LLP
  • Inbali Iserles, professional development lawyer at Ashurst LLP
  • Danièle Tyler, solicitor at Ashurst LLP
  • Rudy Giuliani, New York City Mayor from 1994 to 2001
  • Deepak Jain, senior vice president at Wipro Technologies
  • Roger Camrass, independent consultant and former CIO
  • Mike Gualtieri, principal analyst at researcher Forrester