information management

Survey: Top IT priorities are alignment, staffing

Judi Hasson — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 21:57:59 -0400

The Society for Information Management's annual survey of CIOs and senior IT managers has found that IT business alignment remains of paramount concern, while recruiting and retaining top talent also continue remain high priorities. CIO Insight reports that survey author Jerry Luftman, of Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey, believes IT executives understand IT-business alignment better than in the past. He notes, however, that the corporate leaders too often see IT as subservient to business processes.

"IT and business should be partners," he said. "It drives me nuts when people talk about IT aligned with business and not with each other." Luftman added that some business leaders think they know more about IT than they really do, and he urged CIOs to help educate business executives how to better understand and leverage IT.

The survey of more than 350 company executives also found IT managers were more concerned with finding than retaining business-tech talent. Attracting new IT pros ranked No. 4 on the priority list, while retaining existing talent was ranked No. 8. "It is relatively clear that the pipeline of available, adequately skilled people is not as strong as the demand for resources," Luftman said.

For more on the survey:
- see this CIO Insight article

Should you be training your successor?

Thu, 29 Nov 2007 06:59:56 -0500

You love your job as a CIO. It's the best job you have ever had. But maybe you should have a reality check and see if you should be training your successor. It may be a painful idea for you. It takes time and energy to identify and train the person who will replace you one day, according to a column in The Wall Street Journal. It's a basic rule of management and one that is often skipped. Only about half of all public and private corporate boards have CEO-succession plans in place, according to a survey by the Center for Board Leadership with Mercer Delta Consulting. Just look around you and see how many CIO vacancies there are in both the private sector and the government. And think about the changing role of the CIO. What was once an easily defined position is now one of many challenges and changes.

A survey of 130 CIOs and senior IT executives by the Society for Information Management found that the position is not a rock solid one. The average tenure of those responding to the survey is 4.1 years. An almost equal number said they've held the position for a year or less and nearly 27 percent have held it for seven years or more.

"Succession planning isn't an event, it is a process that is best managed over three, five, even 10 years," because it involves building a pipeline of talent, says Joseph Bower, a Harvard Business School professor and author of The CEO Within: Why Inside Outsiders Are the Key to Succession Planning. Yet, "a lot of CEOs are focused mostly on getting through the next quarter, and they ignore the hard work of grooming future leaders," he adds.

For more on this management tip:
- See InformationWeek article

IBM goes to the mat for data management

Thu, 18 Oct 2007 06:59:58 -0400

It was only a matter of time before IBM came up with a data integration tool that allows customers to manage all data from a single point. IBM's Master Data Management Server, currently in beta, is expected to be available in early 2008. And Big Blue has also released new products to emphasize its commitment to information management. That includes version 8.4 of its Enterprise Content Management product and the IBM Data Studio and Master Data Management Service. The Data Studio is a free, Eclipse-based tool that manages data lifecycles. It will be available for download at the end of this month.

For more on IBM data management:
- see this BPM Today article

Why CIO pay packages are increasing

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 20:01:39 -0400

Along with new business responsibilities come a big increase in pay for CIOs, according to Baseline's ranking of high-paid information-technology executives. This year the list includes 39 millionaires, up from 21 last year. Many of those on the list manage other operations beyond technology, including logistics and customer service. For example Alltel's Jeff Fox, who made $9 million last year, is in charge of technology, but also is president of the company's shared services group. And, he's only 44--one of the youngest on the list. Looking for a piece of this million dollar action? A top-notch CIO needs to know more details about how each part of the company operates than his counterparts have to know about IT, according to John Stevenson, who has been CIO at Sharp Electronics and Avaya and is a former president of the Society for Information Management. "You need to have a dose of knowledge of every other executive position to be successful," he told Baseline.

For more on CIO pay packages:
- see this Baseline article

CIOs in 2010: The Future is Bright

Wed, 23 May 2007 20:01:38 -0400

It seems that while demand for good CIOs that are competent with both business and technology issues is increasing, the supply of potential candidates is decreasing. That's one of the findings in a report released by the Society for Information Management. On May 16, the Advanced Practices Council examined what companies should be doing now to groom their next CIO and attempted to establish 'best practices.' The 2010 CIO is expected to be more of a leader than a manager. CIOs will take on more of a strategist role, while building stronger relationships with partners and customers. The process of managing IT projects and infrastructure will be easier to delegate in the future, the study states. All of this underscores the importance for training and mentorship programs within IT departments.

To read a full report on the study:
- read this article from eWeek

E-discovery and the CIO

Thu, 12 Apr 2007 20:01:39 -0400

Electronic discovery is a firm's obligation to produce all of the documents or information in its possession--including documents that exist only in electronic form--in the event of initiated or threatened litigation. It is important to recognize that in today's business climate, litigation is not always a last-resort. Increasingly, it is becoming an active strategy of the business and is being critically assessed, based on its potential to generate a positive return on investment. In-house counsel should play an important role in information access and management. Managing the content of information should not be ignored. Pay attention to the content of the information being protected. Failure to do so can expose the company to substantial litigation risk. A systematic campaign of education and compliance monitoring is a fundamental element of effective corporate policy around information management. Finally, litigation needs can present a fundamental departure from otherwise highly effective information strategies. Don't try to generate a one-size-fits-all strategy to accommodate the often unique demands presented by litigation. Give proactive consideration to potential litigation when developing information processes.

Learn more about e-discovery and the CIO:
- read the article at CIO Canada

ALSO:
- read this on dealing with e-discovery
- and this on heading lawsuits off at the pass

CIO: Open innovation is the path to take

Thu, 16 Nov 2006 19:01:35 -0500

As one CIO sees it, today's tech leaders should be focused on establishing and developing a sourcing strategy that puts true experts on core functions and allows the tech leader to devote more time and energy to innovation. Jim Noble, CIO at Altria Group, is soon to be the new leader of the Society for Information Management. He believes that the focal point must be on information, rather than technology, and wants to push open innovation and embrace ideas and expertise from outside of the IT enterprise.

For more on making open innovation happen:
- read the Q&A at CIO Insight

Top CIO concerns reflect some changes

Mon, 18 Sep 2006 20:01:36 -0400

In direct contrast to what's been heralded as a top priority for the past few years, CIOs seem to be focusing more on technology than on business engineering, according to a new survey from the Society for Information Management. The top concerns outlined include the alignment of IT and business, hiring and keeping IT talent and, of course, security and privacy issues. According to one pundit, the trend doesn't bode well as tech leaders need to balance attention on both new technology and business process re-engineering. CIOs' top tech priorities include Web services, customer portals and systems integration.

For more on what's on the CIO agenda:
- check out the InformationWeek article

PLUS: Reasons tech leaders are giddy for next year. Article

The disconnect CIOs have in tech hiring

Thu, 30 Mar 2006 19:01:34 -0500

A new report illustrates today's disconnect between what tech leaders need in terms of in-house skills and their longtime traditional approach to outsourcing. While business and communication skills are constantly cited as required, CIOs turn around and hired young professionals who don't have those skills and focus on projects that should likely be outsourced for efficiency reasons. The Society for Information Management, which funded the study conducted by an academic research team, says IT leaders still need to find the right balance in building an internal skill set and handing off non-critical IT projects.

For more on the SIM report findings:
- read this article at CRN