Posted by : bpburnwal on Sep 25, 2003 - 09:34 PM General

IT directors need to involve themselves in a wider range of business issues instead of focusing only on technology projects if they want to gain and retain a position on the board, according to advice given to IT leaders at a recent National Computing Centre event.
Cathy Holley, director at headhunting specialist Ellis Holley Maxwell, argued that many IT directors concentrate on batting for the IT team and requesting budgets for technology upgrades, but chief information officers should have a different mindset.

"[CIOs need to be] part of the team making the decision on whether to go ahead with the [IT] upgrade, or open 12 new branches or not make redundancies," said Holley. "The IT director will blindly go in and ask for investment. The CIO will look across the organisation and make the right decision for the firm." She added that chief executives appreciate IT directors who can demonstrate pragmatism and "sweat the assets a bit more".

Holley argued that IT leaders on the board could increase their influence if they would do more to contribute informed opinions on strategy. "They [should] have something intelligent to say on every topic," said Holley. "They [shouldn't] sit around the board table waiting for technology to be brought up. Technology is not the be all and end all." Holley added that not more than half of a chief information officer's week should be spent on technology governance - the rest should be spent on board-level strategy and issues of running the organisation.

The development of technology strategies that reduce costs and improve customer relationships should be the main focus for IT directors, said Holley: "Chief executives say, 'Get me closer to my customers. Help me reach out and change their behaviour, get them to spend more money and be more loyal.'" She warned that IT leaders also need skills in diplomacy - for example, to avoid highlighting a chief executive's ignorance of IT - and they should not make requests for IT investments unless they have clear justifications for the spending.

David Metcalfe of analyst firm Forrester predicted that the role of CIO will disappear. "Organisations will change in the future because technology has to be much more embedded in the organisation as a whole," he said. Companies will instead rely on a chief technology officer for technology research and development, and the chief financial officer will be in charge of technology procurement, he argued.

IT chiefs may also need to prepare for changes to financial structures. Metcalfe told delegates that by mid-2004, the most popular financial model for IT departments would be a service-based structure, charging business units for services rendered. At present, most IT departments are funded by organisations as a cost centre.

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