The Internet altered business processes, management methodologies, product strategies, and with them the role of the CIO. By 2000, the Chief Information Officer’s responsibilities extended beyond the corporate boundaries to include e-Business partnerships, mirroring institutional changes. With an emphasis on business relationships and cross-institutional data exchange, the CIO’s role evolved into a primary relationship with customers, suppliers, and partners.
The economic downturn of late 2001, and the abrupt reversal of fortune for many technology giants, brought with it another shift in the role of the CIO. Those executives who had become business partners in a net-based system of inter-related services were now at risk. Those executives who had focused on the technology were now at risk, as they represented an irrational investment that had not yet produced the promised revenue. Now, those executives who remained “hands-on” managers of their institutions’ infrastructure operations found themselves without budgets, losing employees, and now directly supporting their internal customers. Unfortunately, as the recession impacted revenue streams, numerous companies removed the position of CIO entirely.
The Role of the CIO
The Data Processing executive managers of 2 decades ago influenced the position of those who today are entitled CIO. Although this position is less than 20 years old, it is representative of the evolution of technology and its impact on operating businesses cross-industry.
On the average most IT executives elected to the position of CIO were executives with many years of experience in various fields. Typically most IT executives dedicate an extensive amount of time to business issues; therefore, this inherent responsibility forced the evolution of the role of CIO. This type of ownership became essential for the functionality of an organization, for a person empowered into such a position must be able to partake in the socioeconomic aspects of an IT organization as well as that of its company overall.
Executives in the field of IT especially CIO’s must master many skills, but there are 2 in particular that they must make their own; leadership and communication, in order to maintain their success as CIO’s. Without a doubt because all organizations have varying cultures there is no guarantee of a high level of success; however, what they can do as leaders is ensure that they have a full understanding of the requirements, incentives, and expectations. In addition, they must assure their organization and the CXO’s that the CIO is and will remain as closely aligned to the business’ overall interest.
How does the CIO Impact an Organization? —Technology vs. Business
The role of the CIO varies as does the business models in place today. Many CIO’s evolved into these roles from a variety of early disciplines, such as technology, finance, manufacturing, service, and so forth. The particular expertise that a CIO develops over his or her career becomes a determining factor in the roles he or she fulfills, but is as equally a key determinant of the type of business that may employ him or her. The corporate leadership determines the type of CIO required based on the company's expectations.
The Technology Leader: Leaders of IT are promoted from information systems departments, where they were applications, operations, or business analysis leaders. This approach continues to provide CIOs. There are exceptions, for instance:
The executive managers of a software company assigned the role of CIO, to the then Director of Engineering, as an initial acting-CIO assignment. This position with numerous responsibilities including engineering infrastructure services was a new role incorporating the various engineering and information technology functions within a common functional area. The Director’s (now CIO) technology background enabled the improvement of both the business and technology relationships within the organizations specifications.
This type of experience has been repeated numerous of times in which managers from engineering, software development, and others have successfully transitioned their careers into the IT platform.
The Business Leader: Business leaders from services, manufacturing or marketing industries have also transitioned into CIO roles the last 10 years. It’s important to understand a business’ specific needs. This led to the growth of business-driven CIOs within the IT arena. Just as well, IT managers are becoming more knowledgeable with tools and systems in order to compete. CIOs assume their positions not only to leverage the technology skills they developed as business leaders, but also because it’s a vehicle to a CXX position.
The Strategist and Mentor: The strategist and mentor type of CIO operates in a fashion similar to that of a Chief Technology Officer (CTO) in a high-tech environment. These individuals focus on strategic directions for the corporation and perform as mentors and advisors to the corporate staff members such as other CXOs. These CIOs are typically grounded in strategic thinking, and play an active role in the product/service development side as well as the marketing/sales side. They focus on issues such as business and IT alignment, they attempt to uncover IT-enabled business opportunities, and apply IT initiatives to streamline business processes. These CIOs are the best candidates to become the CEOs or COOs of their companies. They have developed an all-encompassing view of the enterprise and therefore become key mentors to both the CEO and COO in particular.
The Corporate Influencer: This CIO is molded by the type of business environment he must support and his influence is driven by the characteristics of the business. More than likely the two areas of focus are strategy and execution. Most CIOs are expected to play an equally important role in both arenas. The strategic side of the CIO requires a focus on business, IT alignment, and IT-enabled opportunities. The execution side requires active participation in the execution of major projects in areas like ERP, CRM, and so on. Now, the role of Chief Technology Officer evolved, in the last few years, to further delineate between an execution-based CIO role and a strategic-based one, rather than combining these aspects. The CTO has been more focused on operations, technology, and product development. |
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