The best thing that can happen to a CIO is for the IT budget to
be cut completely. This would mean they would have to compete for
funds in a meritocracy.
CFOs, the gorillas, stamp into the IT department and cut costs
when the economy enters a downturn. But if CIOs had no budget and
were allowed to compete for funds, they would have the perfect
weapon to fend off the alpha males, according to
business IT consultant and
Financial Times columnist Ade McCormack, who founded
Auridian.
Speaking at Gartner's
recent outsourcing event in London, McCormack described how
CIOs would be in a better position if they had to win funding
forprojects.
"The trouble with IT is that when the market goes downhill, the
CFO tends to cut the budget because he controls it," says
McCormack.
He says if the users of technology control the budget, ie. the
different departments, the IT budget wouldbe based on demand. "The
CIO will have to kill what they eat, and as a result will be less
subject to cost cutting."
He says the CIO will have to go out and win business by talking
to departments. The IT department will create IT solutions to
business needs and be paid for doing so.
"They will have to go out and charm department heads. The IT
spend might actually go up in the downturn as a result," adds
McCormack.
He says the next stage is for CIOs to go out and win business
with other companies in their sector. "Some banks already do this
and offer [non-competitive] back-office services to
competitors."
"All of a sudden, the board does not see IT as a cost centre but
a profit centre."
Ironically, it is CIOs whodo not like this model, not the CFOs,
says McCormack.