Say goodbye to the CIO, welcome to the business
prophet
Nolan Norton Institute
Melbourne, Australia
The old gray mare, she ain't what
she used to be
The role of the chief information officer (CIO)
in Australia has changed irretrievably, and
there's no going back. The name (CIO) may
be the same in some circles, but even that has
never met with unanimity (though its
meaning is widely recognised, only 25 per
cent of organisations actually use the title). A
combination of factors has led to the current
state; prime among them are IT outsourcing
and e-business.
Anecdotal and research data converge to
describe the current-day CIO equivalent: it is
increasingly detached from the technology
roots that spawned it and is instead focused
on business planning and even divining the
future. The erstwhile CIO is a champion for
the unknown and the fall guy for it, too.
``Teacher'' and ``prophet'' are more indicative
of the senior information executive role now
than are ``technologist'' or anything related to
computers.
Aggressive and competitive organisations
have been eager and successful at hiving off
the repetitive, techno-intensive aspects of
their businesses. Some divided the tasks into
another part of the organisation, creating the
position of chief technology officer (CTO).
Others dropped the whole thing, electing to
outsource it and keep the more mechanical
aspects outside of the company. Whatever the
driver and the solution, it is increasingly
common for senior ``IT'' executives to be a
fair distance from the ``T''.
The explicit separation of the roles of
technology planning and information-
enabled, technology-aware business planning
is the current wave. Supply and demand
sides are seen as separate and are
increasingly managed that way. The senior
information executive is still very often the
bridge between those sides, and that role is
unlikely to change. The role requires a
recognition of the ways in which business
conduct is transforming and must work to be
a part of it, bringing the rest of the
organisation along with their eyes wide open.
One of the largest changes to business
conduct is certainly the onset of e-business in
its myriad forms. In this, the senior
information executive's role is intensely
embroiled and it will undergo still further
changes before the dust has settled.
It is e-business or out-of-business
The very mention of ``e''-anything can bring
about wails of frustration among many
business managers, not least because it is
simultaneously highly hyped and poorly
understood. This leaves managers in any
number of unpleasant scenarios, including
being unable to deliver on unrealistic
expectations or being unable to garner
sufficient interest and support for what is
actually a feasible business undertaking. In
any event, it is not a career-enhancing
position, and many would just as soon take
the path of least resistance. The senior
information executive has neither the choice
nor the inclination to ignore the e-business
push. But for them, it's an uphill battle and
one that almost invariably entails trying to
make converts of the skeptical.
Rather than resisting the hype, there is a
school of thought that says it is easier and
more productive to just ride the wave.
Ramming their heads against a wall of
indifference is not a desirable pastime for
most executives. But the wall of indifference
is there nonetheless. Many Australian
organisations have a resistance to belief in
The research register for this journal is available at
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The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
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[ 123 ]
Information Management &
Computer Security
9/3 [
2001
] 123±125
# MCB University Press
[
ISSN 0968-5227
]
Keywords
Information technology,
Management, Interviews
Abstract
As part of its ongoing CIO Forum
Series, the Nolan Norton Institute
in Australia undertakes in-depth
interviews, discussions and
research with senior IT
management across the country.
The preliminary findings from the
research undertaken in Q3, 2000
are outlined here. These findings
are the basis for larger research
white papers put out by the
Institute. The major findings from
Q3 are focused on the new roles
required in the face of e-business.
Research uncovered that e-
business is about business more
than it is about technology. As a
result, chief information officer
(CIO) roles are different than they
were; speed plays a greater role
than ever before, while none of
these changes allow a shedding of
the ``old'' CIO responsibilities.
This paper is a preliminary
research report, reprinted
with the permission of the
Nolan Norton Institute,
Melbourne, Australia.