The importance of e-business now promises to boost the credibility
of the IT manager. Caroline Davis and Robert Dunt reports
Information technology departments are increasingly in the
limelight. Where once they were sidelined from major business
decisions and relegated to a support role, the transformation
taking place surrounding the Internet is making IT crucial to
business success.
Every company must have a dotcom strategy, to keep its
shareholders happy if nothing else. And a top-notch IT department
is vital if this is to be successful.
In recent months, Computer Weekly has reported how the
Kingfisher Group, which owns Comet, Woolworths and Superdrug, has
put IT at the centre of its e-business transformation. We also
revealed how Barclays is revolutionising its business on a similar
scale. Likewise, in the public sector IT is at the centre of
change, with a flurry of soundbites from ministers.
But has the image of IT changed that much? Has the e-business
agenda done enough to help IT departments shake off their nerdy
image and become a truly valued part of the business?
To find out, Computer Weekly decided to ask IT management
across a broad range of industry sectors.
Retail and distribution
One IT manager working in the automotive retail and distribution
sector felt that IT has achieved a higher status due to the advent
of the Internet.
"The value of IT in the company has increased over the past year
following competition from the Internet and European importation of
cars," he said.
"The department has begun to be seen as contributing directly
due to an effective Web site. Although I don't make e-business
decisions, IT will drive the business more and more. Our financial
director firmly believes in IT because he's seen it work in
previous companies.
"Morale is good. There are huge changes going on in the car
business where manufacturers can deal direct with anyone. We have
to create systems to meet these demands. We're working at the
forefront of technology. People are continually learning, which
keeps them happy.
"Traditionally, there was a clear dividing line, IT was seen as
a supplier of information. But with the Internet, IT steps on
everyone's toes. Sometimes I think it is perceived as a threat, but
there are enough people who know about both the business and IT -
they can see the real value."
The reputation of IT is changing across the retail sector.
Another IT manager who has a string of high-street shops said that
his opinion on whether his department's work was valued had
changed.
"We've recently undergone a restructuring of the department and
in the past the answer would have been 'no', but now I get the
impression that peopleare responding to us better."
He said that restructuring meant the different parts of the
company now communicated better with each other and had more of an
idea of what each other was doing and where the company as a whole
was going.
Nevertheless, he said that his company could still not see how
the IT department contributed to the bottom-line. He put this down
to the fact that people were often confused by the technical jargon
the department used.
"You sit there and watch people's eyes glaze over if you go into
the technical details. At the end of the day, they come and ask for
solutions and nine times out of 10 all they're interested in is the
end result. They don't appreciate the work that's gone in to that,"
he pointed out.
Finance
IT is becoming more and more valued in financial companies, IT
managers said.
"The IT department is very much valued, it's seen as an
important part of the business. IT is represented at a senior
business level and at the corporate level," one senior manger
said.
"The skills shortage has affected us, particularly in recruiting
people with Java and Lotus Notes skills," he added.
Another manager felt that although his department is generally
listened to, a lack of consultation sometimes resulted in poor
decisions being made.
"I feel we are an integral part of the company and I am
consulted, although there are exceptions," said one senior IT
manager from a large insurance company.
He said that too often decisions were made without proper
consultation and a better decision could have been made if the IT
department had been contacted first.
"It's not every time but it happens from time to time," he
added.
Manufacturing
In the past 18 to 24 months, IT has definitely moved to the
forefront of decision-making, according to IT heads in
manufacturing.
"Recent changes in the organisation have reflected the value and
contribution that IT can make, for example, getting the best out of
enterprise resource planning, e-commerce and knowledge management,"
he said.
"We've had a radical re-organisation, to get an IT
infrastructure and reorganise support on a local basis. It's
organised so that support is regionalised; the IT department is
adding to the business, it's no longer seen as an obstruction. Now
IT managers have a say in the business direction of the company - a
recent board meeting was very IT-focused."
Construction
It is a very different story in the construction industry.
IT managers said that staff felt undervalued and that board
members were unable to see what the IT department was contributing
to the company.
A business systems development manager for a large construction
company said that he thought his IT staff felt "undervalued and
under pressure".
He said board members did not understand what the IT department
could bring to the business and consequently it was under pressure
to start delivering.
The department had just been reorganised as managers felt it was
not visibly contributing to the bottom line of the company.
He explained that he had been brought in from the construction
side of the company to try to make the department more
business-orientated.
Public sector
In the public sector, IT managers felt that their opinions were
more highly valued now that the Government is emphasising
technology through its Modernising Government agenda.
"Do I think I feel valued? Yes. In fact, increasingly so," said
the head of IS/IT services at a large county council. He said that
councillors were switching on to technology and wanted IT moved
into their homes for mailing and messaging, and that the IT budget
had been increased for the year.
He pointed out that much of this was because of the Government's
desire for modernisation and its backing of e-commerce
initiatives.
But he said that councillors still found it difficult to see the
financial benefits of his department. "It's difficult to get across
to people that what we do saves money.
"If you say we're dealing with three to four times as many
queries a day as we used to, is that a saving or not?"
"We've had some wonderful debates about that," he added.