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.
The nature of work has changed. Want proof? Search LinkedIn and see how many people choose to define their job role with what might previously have been seen as non-traditional, even esoteric, terms:
- 4,475,626 results for owner
- 3,677,739 results for consultant
- 1,911,106 results for specialist
- 537,068 results for advisor
- 469,201 results for founder
- 468,044 results for expert
- 405,901 results for freelance
- 398,420 results for contractor
- 365,215 results for writer
- 138,506 results for speaker
- 84,840 results for strategist
- 61,032 results for ambassador
- 50,013 results for thinker
- 45,848 results for visionary
- 42,614 results for guru
- 20,318 results for blogger
- 16,270 results for evangelist
- 4,582 results for entreprenuer
- 3,094 results for gatekeeper
- 1,637 results for futurist
Old favourites – like freelance and contractor – are still popular. At the start of the last decade, such descriptions were seen as being catch-all phrases for individuals operating at the fringes of the formal economy and providing an outsourced service to larger businesses.
Twenty years ago, futurologists predicted something called ‘the internet’ would allow us to all work flexibly. Now, in a new economy driven by collaborative technologies, freelancing has become the mainstream. A global economy of contractors is fast-developing, with individuals selling their expertise on-demand.
Old monikers – such as freelance and contractor – do not necessarily encapsulate the act of work. The result is a collection of meaningful/meaningless terms that are used to describe what people actually do, or would like to do.
I wonder how the table will develop as the economy changes? Feel free to suggest other esoteric descriptions.
I was on holiday last week, during which time the sparkling spring edition of CIO Connect magazine hit the desks of the UK’s key IT leaders. In the lead-up to the release of the magazine, I’ve been busy modifying the content to include more forward-looking elements.
The changes are represented in ‘Foresight’, a new introductory section to the magazine that identifies the business and technology issues that will impact the work of CIOs in the next year-or-so. In short, change in business IT is so rapid that there is little point having a discussion about the here and now. CIO priorities are always about helping the business to work smarter and the ‘Foresight’ section will help IT leaders as they attempt to establish a competitive edge.
There are several other subtle changes in the spring edition, too – including more boxes and summary points in the main features. The aim is to give time-precious CIOs as much information as quickly as possible. As ever, the edition includes a series of exclusive features:
- Globalisation at Procter & Gamble – featuring Filippo Passerini, global CIO at Procter & Gamble, and Karen Winney, business services director for UK, Nordic and Ireland at Procter & Gamble
- Innovation and transformation at ITV – featuring Richard Cross, group technology director at ITV
- Equal opportunities in IT – featuring Intel CIO Diane Bryant, Scottish Government CIO Anne Moises and Christine Ashton, IM strategy and technology director at Transport for London
Finally, here are a list of the IT leaders and business experts that appear in the issue. As ever, thanks to all that contributed their time and thoughts:
- Richard Cross, group technology director at ITV
- Jon Inch, CIO at Christie’s
- John Suffolk, Government CIO
- Filippo Passerini, global CIO at Procter & Gamble
- Karen Winney, business services director for UK, Nordic and Ireland at Procter & Gamble
- Diane Bryant, CIO at Intel
- Anne Moises, Scottish Government CIO
- Christine Ashton, IM strategy and technology director at Transport for London
- Tania Howarth, CIO at Birds Eye Iglo Group
- Stephen Entwistle, financial director of McKeowns Solicitors
- John Thorp, chairman of the VAL IT Steering Committee at the IT Governance Institute
- David Woodgate, chief executive of the Institute of Financial Accountants
- Robin Dargue, CIO at Royal Mail
- Karl Deacon, CTO at Capgemini
- Neil McGowan, IT director at JD Williams
- Tim Mann, CIO at Skandia UK
- Olivier Uytterhoeven, director of IT at Starwood Hotels
- Nathan Marke, CTO at 2e2
- Tony Eccleston, partner at Ernst & Young
- Steve Pikett, head of IT at Rothschild
- Paul Mockapetris, domain name system (DNS) inventor and chairman of Nominum
- Martin Roesch, founder and CTO of Sourcefire
- Professor Soumitra Dutta, Roland Berger Professor of business and technology at business school INSEAD
- Rob Spencer, senior research fellow at Pfizer
- Ray Johnston, group IT operations manager at Aspen Insurance UK Ltd
- Euan Semple, social media consultant and former BBC technology chief
- Richard Moross, chief executive and founder of online printing company Moo.com
- Peter Hinssen, programme director for Realising Business Performance Through IT at the London Business School
- Dr Martin Clarke, director of general management programmes at the Cranfield School of Management
- Ian Cohen, former CIO at Associated News and managing director of SimplyGreatConsulting.com
- Ian Buchanan, former CIO at Alliance & Leicester
- Baroness Eliza Manningham-Buller, former director general of MI5