What exactly does a chief information officer do?Paul Burfitt,
global CIO at AstraZeneca, analysed the various aspects of his job
and presented his findings to a recent CW500 Club meeting. Julia
Vowler reports
With all the high-powered visions of IT at the cutting edge of the
world's economy, it is easy to become misty-eyed at the prospect of
IT providing strategic business leadership. But what does that
actually mean for a chief information officer?
Paul Burfitt, global CIO at pharmaceuticals giant AstraZeneca,
analysed what he has done over the past three months to shine some
light on the issue.
Countless reports and column inches in IT publications have debated
the difference between IT directors and CIOs. The latter is
generally seen as the more prestigious role, implying a seat on the
board, or at least easy access to it. But Burfitt does not agonise
over his job title or who he reports to.
"It is very difficult to generalise what a CIO does, as there is no
'general CIO' definition," he says.
"It is what you do to add value to your business that counts.
"I am not saying that it is irrelevant who you report to: it is
important. Not because of their label, but whether that person
actually gives you the support, energy and inspiration to help you
deliver. If I reported to someone who did not do that I would want
out."
Nor does Burfitt focus on hands-on running of IT, either in
day-to-day or larger operations. The reason is a practical one:
with a company the size of AstraZeneca, monitoring all IT
operations would be virtually impossible.
"I am the global CIO for AstraZeneca but I do not have direct,
hands-on control of all of the company's IT resources. It would be
impractical to have direct control over IT in every country where
the company operates. My role is to see the overall framework of IS
policies, standards and strategies, and to empower people to
deliver and contribute locally within that," he says.
Instead, as an executive board member, Burfitt focuses on what most
other company directors do - setting targets for IT within
AstraZeneca.
"I spend most of my time on the IS vision: the priorities,
objectives and targets, and how IS contributes to deliver value to
business. I have difficulty with the term 'IT strategy' because it
separates IT strategy from business strategy.
I meet with members of the executive team three or four times a
year. These meetings are a challenging debate, to steer the IS
function towards the company's goals. I am very clear about our
business objectives and our vision for IS, and so is the executive
team."
Managing staff is another major challenge. "I spend my second
biggest chunk of time on people," says Burfitt.
"Recruit good people. It makes an enormous difference. I do not
want IS people who are only 'throw IT over the wall' or system
builders who let business find the value of IT."
Burfitt believes that staff need to focus on the value of what they
are doing to the business, rather than seeing their work in
isolation. "IS has a shared responsibility for delivering value
from its systems. I insist the milestones are business milestones,
not IT ones. Have your implementation party a year after you have
delivered it and measure its business value," he says.
Burfitt's third most time-absorbing activity is ensuring that IT
systems are efficient across an organisation, through careful
delegation, "You won't get into the chief executive's office if his
PC is down!"
Burfitt's other main activity is less welcome - IT governance. The
role of IT in corporate governance, such as a company's disaster
recovery arrangements, has become more high-profile since the 11
September terrorist attacks in the US.
"I was surprised to find I spend so much time on IS governance," he
says. "We have been feeling that there were too many reviews and
debates which have been slowing us down. So we have been clarifying
accountability and the role of committees."
But with so many demands on a CIO's time, coupled with the
relatively new nature of the job, how is performance
measured?
Burfitt uses balanced scorecards, a software suite with performance
indicators. "But you have to prioritise - you can't improve
everything all the time. Business and IS priorities change every
year and you have to be brave enough to say 'no', if a priority
changes."
Are you a chief information officer or an IT
director?
The terms themselves are academic, but Cathy Holley, chief
information officer (CIO) headhunter, thinks the roles are
fundamentally different. "A CIO is not just an IT director with a
bigger budget. They spend their time completely differently," she
says.
The top two concerns of CIOs are career development within an
organisation - networking and "branding themselves" - and working
out how IT can deliver shareholder value. Meanwhile, IT directors
or would-be IT directors should not underplay their technical
knowledge. "The first thing they tell me is 'I am not a techie'.
Why are they are ashamed of their techie roots?" asks Holley.
To Holley, shunning the technology dimension of their role is
missing a trick. IT is a specialist source of knowledge they bring
to the corporate picnic. No one else in the organisation is as well
placed to see how technology can contribute to shareholder
value.
"Sometimes CIOs describe their role as a sanity check to ensure
that IT strategies hang together. They also look at technology
futures and budgets, and supplier management is a new entrant to
the list," she says.
"The rest of the time they are thinking about how to deliver
shareholder value. They don't just have 'a seat on the board', they
belong to the board, the executive team.
"They talk to City analysts and spend little or no time with
suppliers talking product. They talk to customers."
Paul Burfitt was speaking at this month's Computer Weekly 500
Club meeting