“In my house I’m the boss, my wife is just the decision maker.” – Woody Allen
Are today’s CIOs connected closely with their businesses? Are they involved in the critical business decisions that are taken? Are they a strategic partner, or do they simply execute? Have today’s CIOs evolved into being part of the core management team, or are they sitting on the fringe of the decision-making process? And how or why does it matter?
According to CIO.com’s ‘The State of the CIO’ survey, there is a big disconnect between what the business team and the CIO wants (and does). Only 22% of the 596 IT leaders polled actually believe they are part of the business, its decisions, and its strategy. As for the rest, over half of them see themselves as a technology or service provider, while one out of five CIO’s think their team is under-appreciated and under-utilized by the business.
How does this matter to the future of the CIO? The biggest area of disconnect is in how the business and the IT team approaches business-critical areas of cutting cost and handling competition. The IT team usually considers these 2 areas as low priorities while the business team believes that reducing cost (84%) and eliminating competition (78%) are a high/crucial priority.
The survey then raises the question – if the IT team is not part of these business critical decisions, how can they help steer the course of the business? How can they demonstrate their importance to the business? And most importantly, how can they increase their team’s credibility and criticality in the wake of global competition and a weak economy?
As business’ fight these twin demons of cost and competition, IT teams are busy fighting their own battles – increasing worries about security and finding the right employee to fill that IT role. As mobility, cloud, and social media become an integral part of everyday life, hiring and training the right team to help secure business assets and information can become a full time job by itself.
So what should IT leaders do in 2012? Should they focus inward and streamline technology and processes for the business, or focus outward and create and execute strategic decisions? A tough call indeed! But if your answer is both – why not seek Suyati’s help to streamline your technology processes and software development while you participate in and focus directly on the execution of your strategic business plans.
We’re listening.
Have something to say about this article? Contact us to know more or share it with us on Facebook, Twitter or our LinkedIn.
