New skills are needed for CIOs to ride the changes that
will transform IT. And forging effective new relationships both
outside and within the business will be vital
Chief information officers are now recognising that the future
is not entirely in their own hands, as can be seen from the latest
CIO Connect Census.
For the past three years, being a CIO has not been easy. While
the rest of the enterprise was enjoying a mini boom, the poor CIO
had been called to task to spend less money, provide functionality
to the business "on demand" and at the same time, deliver secure
"end-to-end" service across the whole corporate stretch. Two out of
three is not tolerated! Rather like waiting for a piano to drop on
your head!
This relentless pressure to cut costs reduced the IT function to
that of cash cow. Faced with the possibility of getting rid of
people and putting service "on risk" CIOs retaliated in the only
way possible, by beating up the suppliers. The results are plain
for all to see in the details of the CIOCensus, which surveyed 122
CIOs from a wide range of industries and the public sector. Three
out of four CIOs still feel that their efforts to build strategic
relationships are simply not matched by suppliers.
Now at last, there are some rumblings deep in the organisation
that there is a new role for IT to play and the business is ready
to back investment, but only if certain conditions are met like no
"pioneering" and "who controls"!
So the question is, does the CIO have a future? The answer would
appear to be a resounding "no", unless certain change factors are
demonstrably met.
Traditionally, CIOs were divided into two groups: "architects"
and "plumbers". Plumbers connected up pipes down which data flowed.
The plumbers' key attraction was technology, technology and
technology in that order.
Architects, on the other hand, took the strategic business plan
and figured out how best to deliver on the promises through the
prudent application of IT. However, the role was one of sweeping up
after the parade - the CIO had not yet made the quantum leap of
being seen and recognised as an essential contributor to the art of
what was possible.
Many would argue that the new role for the CIO is that of
"change warrior". But to fulfil this role well requires a totally
different approach and a new skill set.
If we are to examine the new skill requirement for managing
change, then of course you still need the CIO's staple capability
of analytical skills backed up with a good grounding in technical
knowledge . But here is the rub, to be a good change manager, you
also need excellent communication skills and political nous. Sadly,
these qualities have never been top of the list when recruiting a
new CIO.
Going back to the census, all of the CIOs interviewed believe
that significant IT-related opportunities have yet to be exploited
in their organisations. The key question is, by who?
Backing up this key point, there was unanimous agreement that
there is real need to improve relations with the business by
adopting a "realistic two-way or three- way by including suppliers"
method of communicating with the business, end-customers, suppliers
and all who need to know. It is not enough to publish a weekly
newsletter or run out usage statistics based on erroneous service
level agreement figures. Also, it is essential that the new message
is in businessese and not technospeak.
There is no doubt that the next thrust for the new CIO will be
to continue to improve business processes and provide key financial
information as usual, but the emphasis is less on exploiting new
technologies and more about improving business efficiencies. But
this time the role has to be proactive, not reactive.
Consequently, many of the new breed of CIOs are being recruited
from the business. In many cases, the change of CIO coincides with
the appointment of new chief executives and non-executive
directors. The new breed of leaders tends to be IT literate. It is
interesting that two years ago, the CIO's aspiration for their next
post was to be the CIO of a much larger organisation. But,
surprise, surprise, last year half of CIOs declared their goal was
be a chief executive within five years.
So what can be said in summary? Certainly among the CIO
community, the latest census would have us believe that CIOs'
optimism on the business outlook is wavering, although half are
still of the opinion that the global economy is sound. There are
variations across sectors.
The good news is that there is a general feeling that investment
money can be found for the right business venture. Of course, the
case must be well presented and articulated.
To compete in the new arena requires much to be done through
practising communication and political skills, although the jury is
still out on whether these skills will be home grown or bought
in.
On the suppliers' side, suppliers must realise that relationship
builders who will put the time and effort in to understand the
change agenda will be long-term winners. But this activity will
also require a new skill set away from the traditional product
knowledge base.
So, is there a role for the CIO in the future? Probably not in
the present form, but existing CIOs should take comfort in the fact
that there is a real challenge out there to seize with both
hands.
What will the future CIO look like? Probably from a business
background, part pirate, part politician and part entrepreneur.
Technical skills will be hired in as suppliers are asked to bear
the brunt of emerging technology research in a true business
context.
After all, somebody has to be capable of specifying, managing
and delivering an "insourcing" projectÉ
Curriculum vitae: Des Lee
Des Lee is a founding director of CIO-Connect. The IT directors
group partners with the UK's senior CIOs to identify competitive
business strategies and solutions, and provides a networking forum
for CIOs.
Lee was a CIO himself for many years at Lloyd's of London, the
Kingfisher Group, Unilever and Nestle Rowntree. He also led the
technology sector of the Rank Organisation's bid for the UK
National Lottery contract.
Lee was one of the architects of the industry's first venture
with e-business resulting in the establishment of the ANA Tradanet
System. He repeated the feat at Lloyd's of London with the design
and introduction of the London Insurance Market Electronic
Network.
Lee is a life president of the IBM Computer Users Association.
During his career he has also held non-executive positions with
several leading edge technology companies.