Eric Brown is starting a new weekly series on the role of the new CIO.
What is key to the success of today’s CIOs is
“The New CIO not only has to focus on technology issues but must also focus on business strategy and marketing”
We posted our views, which we’ve reproduced below, as this is a very interesting subject. Traditionally, CIOs have been promoted over years of experience in an organisation. Once of the potential limitations of the “worldly wise” CIOs is that their wisdom may not be too valid in today’s world. This is particularly true in the context of marketing and the use of social media.
As you rightly say, the “New CIO” has a far broader remit on which he/she must deliver. The traditional CIO who, often, was viewed as the technology guru - the person who could turn data into information - is almost dead.
The role is certainly more challenging now. Delivering to marketing/marcomms business units is critical. Historically, these guys are very unforgiving when it comes to technology - “what do you mean I can’t have it by Monday? I must have it by Monday because we’re sponsoring a golf championship”. Also, they are far more reactive than any IT department (outside of a startup) has ever been. The combination of their intoleratnce (occassionally) and their ability to react swiftly does not always mix well with a CIO or an IT Director.
What I think this demonstrates though is that the CIO *must* be an all encompassing role across the width of the business. There can be no allegiances to vertical business units without letting down others.
I think that a good way to illustrate this is with the marketing/marcomms department again. For instance, they are often responsible for the web presence. This may have a portal for customers which means there needs to be an interface to CRM or contact management. Perhaps you can buy a product or service online too which means an interface to inventory management/ERP and also to financial data. Then, as if that were not enough, perhaps there is a partner or dealer network.
Failure to consider all of these areas would mean a short life for a CIO