Should the CIO's job be two?

Some see the CIO's job as having too many responsibilities that are incompatible and believe it should be divided up for greater efficiency to insure a company stays ahead of the curve. Following this line of reasoning would mean creating two separate positions currently often held by one individual. One executive would be responsible for exploring and making decisions on emerging technology, experimentation, finding out what users want, and dealing with the business side of the enterprise. The other job would be managing the technology within the organization.

In other words, divide development from maintenance. Laurie Orlov argues in CIO.com that such a split is logical. She asserts that combining the two responsibilities, as is frequently the case today, is "a recipe for failure'' and can create a "regressive'' environment.

Of course, separating the functions can lead to conflicts, power plays, more hierarchy within an organization and perhaps less streamlined decision making. It certainly would dilute the role of the CIO, perhaps diminishing the clout of IT within an organization. What do you think? A sound idea or a recipe for trouble? - Judi

To read more about turning one CIO's job into two jobs:
 - Check out this CIO.com article