From Jurassic Park to the technology park – CIO DNA is evolving
From Jurassic Park to the technology park – CIO DNA is evolving
Feb 23, 2005: Discussion around the issue of DNA make-up evokes in some the subjects of genetic modification; cloning, such as with Dolly the sheep; or the application of DNA threads to reintroduce long extinct creatures, as portrayed in Jurassic Park.
But the latest research by Meta Group revolves around none of that, but rather the evolving DNA of the CIO.
The analyst group found in the results of its annual study – which surveyed around 1000 CIOs from around the globe - that the increased volatility of a new market reality in which cost-cutting is held at a premium has forever changed the position of the CIO. Moreover, the increasing complexity of the technology sector, which has seen the evolution of traditional software markets, consolidation of players and services, and blurring of deeply entrenched vendor channels, has vastly impacted the kind of executive needed to helm the IT organisation (ITO).
"The DNA of the CIO is more multidimensional than it has ever been," said Jonathan Poe, senior vice president of Executive Directions, Meta Group’s CIO advisory and coaching service. "In the past, CIO help-wanted ads were simple. Organisations sought executives with enough technology savvy to oversee IT investments and enough managerial ability to run the ITO. Today, leading CIOs must have the business acumen to manage the ITO as a separate and distinct division, while being creative enough to view IT as a transformational tool rather than a support function. In addition, CIOs must possess the communication skills necessary to translate IT investments, first into business concepts, and then into ROI. They must be skilled communicators, able to challenge disparate taxonomies by creating a common language for all audiences. Finally, they must be exceptional navigators - capable of using the ITO to drive the enterprise forward externally, while concurrently elevating the role of the ITO internally."
As the demands of the role and the DNA of the executive evolve, so do the CIO’s priorities. According to a recently completed Meta Group study titled "Top CIO Issues for 2005," value management heads the list of CIO concerns. Specifically, leading CIOs understand that CEOs and boards have been pressured to establish value for all corporate assets. Therefore, they see it as incumbent upon themselves, as leader of the ITO, to create, capture, and communicate the value of IT. Smart CIOs also view value communication as an effective, albeit unconventional, form of job security.
According to the study, value management processes have directly increased CIO tenure by enabling IT executives to demonstrate more tangible evidence that IT can grow the business in addition to simply supporting it. As a result, findings reveal that CIO tenure now averages 30 months and will rise to 40 months by mid-2006.
Value management is, however, far from the only CIO priority. The new breed of CIO is also more focused on critical business/IT alignment. To this end, study findings indicate an emphasis on agility and business relationship management. In fact, Meta predicts that by late 2006, 65 percent of CIOs will have relationship managers co-located with business. Moreover, by 2008, 85 percent of ITOs will exploit business relationship managers in concert with relationship, project, and value management processes. Advanced ITOs will incorporate change management, portfolio management, managerial accounting, and team building as key curriculum components for IT leaders.
"Today’s CIOs view IT as the start of the race, not the finish," continued Poe. "They have a broader perspective of the enterprise and a more creative point of view on the value of IT within that organisation. Perhaps more important, they have the market perspective that past generations of CIOs lacked."
Related Article: