For as long as there have been business computers there
seems to have been a gulf between employees who understand the
technology and those who understand the business. But it appears
that this divide is being bridged.
Computer Weekly's latest quarterly
CIO Index
shows that in February 37% of senior IT managers in the UK agreed
strongly that communication with the business was improving,
compared with 27% in November last year.
This jump of 10 percentage points comes at a time when
businesses are relying more than ever on their IT investments. For
example, one UK company that has executed a remarkable turnaround,
Marks & Spencer, is investing heavily in radio frequency
identification technology to improve inventory control, and in its
website to improve sales and customer retention.
One reason for improved communication with board directors could
be the increased efforts being made by IT departments to measure
their contribution to the business. The latest CIO Index survey
found that 55% agreed that they were systematically measuring the
benefits of IT, up from the previous quarter, when 42% of IT
directors said they had measures in place to track IT's
benefits.
However, at the time, Andrew Likierman, a professor at the
London Business School, warned that organisations often used the
wrong measures to monitor IT's success.
Likierman, a non-executive director of Barclays and the Bank of
England, said, "The IT function should be clearly linked to
organisational objectives. Cost, services and risk have to be
anchored in the organisation and not in the IT function."
The survey also found that 20% of IT directors agreed strongly
that business processes were well integrated with IT systems,
compared with 16% in November last year. In April last year - our
inaugural survey - 70% of top IT management said they thought it
was getting easier to demonstrate the business value of IT,
compared with 66% in February this year.
The latest survey also showed that 57% of CIOs thought
end-users were sufficiently trained to use systems effectively -
precisely the same proportion as in our first survey last
April.
Managing change continues to pose a challenge, with 55% of
respondents saying it is getting easier, compared with 61% in our
inaugural survey.
Myron Hrycyk, chief information officer at NYK Logistics, said
that IT has to demonstrate its credibility with senior management
before IT managers get a good hearing with board-level
directors.
"It is great when you have ideas about how technology can
improve the business operation or create a new service. However, if
you are saying, 'I would like £100,000 for a speculative project',
you are more likely to get a favourable hearing if you have earned
the credibility and trust of your business colleagues," he pointed
out in a recent article for Computer Weekly.
Another reason for the improvement seen in communication could
be because IT management is becoming more professional. Nearly all
of those surveyed (96%) agreed that IT management was getting on to
a more professional footing, up from 89% in our inaugural
survey.
Methodology
The CIO Index is Computer Weekly's quarterly online survey of IT
directors in the Computer Weekly 500 Club. The research is
conducted by our parent company Reed Business Information's market
research department, strictly adhering to the Market Research
Society's code of conduct.
In addition to analysis of key metrics for IT expenditure in UK
businesses, the CIO Index tracks technology adoption and highlights
trends in the business readiness of emerging technologies.
More from the CIO
Index research
Myron Hrycyk on bridging the gap between IT and the
business
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