IT Best Practices

It may be time to rethink your career

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 06:59:56 -0400

For CIOs who are seeking a change because of career stagnation, or find themselves heading out the door because of the weak economy, consulting may be the answer. Brian Kilcourse spent 10 good years as CIO of Long Drugs before retiring in 2002, and then founded two IT consulting companies for the retail industry.

"I remember sitting in a system requirements meeting and realizing that I'd been in almost the same meeting with the same people discussing the same problem in 1985," he told Baseline Magazine. "The only thing that had changed was the technology. That's when I knew it was time to get out."

Susan Cramm, who was a CIO at Taco Bell, and now provides training and advice to IT executives, said she has found that major changes in direction can enhance and extend the careers of CIOs by increasing their experience in business disciplines and different markets.

For more on new CIO career paths:
- check out this Baseline Magazine article

Net neutrality back on the radar

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 06:59:59 -0500

The House of Representatives is once again delving into the issue of Net neutrality. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California said that without new Net neutrality laws, "telecommunications and cable companies will be able to create toll lanes on the information superhighway. This strikes at the heart of the free and equal nature of the Internet." That is a scary thought, but plenty of insiders have blamed the failure of getting legislation passed so far on the cable industry.

Rep. Ed Markey re-introduced legislation on Wednesday that seeks to make sure the next generation of Internet users have open access to the net and are protected from the whims of the broadband industry that controls the networks. He hopes to push the bill forward this year. The Open Internet Coalition, which includes Ask.com, eBay, Match.com, Google and a number of other advocacy groups, says that Markey's legislation "will make Net Neutrality the law of the land, and will require the FCC to protect Internet freedom from the predatory efforts of the telco and cable gatekeepers."

For more on Net neutrality:
- See this CNET article
- Also see this CNET article
- And this InformationWeek article

Breaking: Microsoft hires former Walt Disney CIO

Mehan Jayasuriya — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 16:17:05 -0500

Microsoft announced yesterday that it had hired Tony Scott, 56, as its new CIO, reaching for an experienced executive from Walt Disney where he led a major IT infrastructure upgrade. Tony Scott replaces Stuart Scott who was fired in November for violating company policies that were never publicly spelled out. Scott will report to Chief operating officer Kevin Turner. Turner said the new CIO will focus on making the most out of Microsoft's IT investments along with sharing best practices with other high-level IT executives. In addition to his work at Walt Disney, Tony Scott's background includes a stint at General Motors, where he was the chief technology officer, as well as experience as the vice president of operations at Bristol-Myers Squibb. "Our internal IT systems and operations play a critical role in the success of our business and how we deliver new technologies and advancements to our customers in the marketplace," Turner said. "We will leverage Tony's deep experience in running global IT organizations...to achieve the highest level of business value by utilizing IT."

For more on Microsoft's new CIO:

- See this press release

Get up-to-speed on eDiscovery

Thu, 13 Dec 2007 06:59:59 -0500

In a new survey conducted by Canvass Opinion among in-house legal departments at 200 Fortune 500 companies, 18 percent lawyers say IT that has the primary responsibility for developing eDiscovery strategies in their organization. And that means the hat has been passed. The role of protecting electronic documents falls squarely in the lap of the CIO--whether or not he or she wants the job.

It's an issue that many CIOs have not seen as an important one. A year after federal courts expanded the rules for civil procedure to include electronic documents, many IT departments are still far away from the reality of making it work. "IT thinks it is not their business and yet all of the data and policies that directly impact the risk are controlled by IT such as document retention, preservation, archiving and email management policies." said Kristin Nimsger, president of Kroll Ontrack, the company for whom the survey was conducted.

If you are in the crowd of naysayers, it's time for a reality check. Working with a company's legal department, every CIO must come up with a strategy right now, not later, because if your company is fined or spends money trying to comply at a later date, the IT department will be blamed.

For more on the CIO and eDiscovery:
- See this Infoworld Article

What a CIO needs for a blueprint

Thu, 13 Dec 2007 06:59:58 -0500

Whoever thought that a CIO would need a map to do his job? Well, that certainly seems to be the way it's going these days. The CIO needs a clear blueprint for his organization and for its goals. It's no longer enough to have a "To Do" list or "Goals" for the year. With the constant change facing a CIO, it's important to have a map with every issue planned out so that focusing on a particular problem is no longer by the "seat of your pants."

Now, you can go to a library or order a book from Amazon.com that can help you. One is called the Information Technology Infrastructure Library, a set of 10 books of best practices for IT service management. Two others are COBIT, or Control Objectives for Information and Related Technology, and ISO 17799. Taken together, these texts make it possible to develop a blueprint that is more than writing a few ideas down on a paper napkin. These three books make it possible for you to go from "Start" to "Finish" without a detour.

For more on developing your own roadmap:
- See this InformationWeek Article

The CIO's job--by the book or not?

Thu, 13 Dec 2007 06:59:56 -0500

You could do your job as a CIO by the book, and get by. Or you could excel at the job, and you would shine. The problem is that for most CIOs, an ordinary job doesn't always work anymore, not when competitive forces are nipping at your heels every day of the week. CIO Magazine's 7th annual survey of CIOs found that many believe that the job is so complex that it is often difficult to find out what you should be doing, not to mention how to do it. Some of the 558 survey respondents are doing quite well. Others have no idea how to navigate their way in this brave new world. Nobody likes to be in this difficult position, least of all the CIO.

So here are a few tips. Stop talking about innovation and return on investment (ROI) and do something about them. Strong CIOs don't just cast around for a solution. They implement them.

The survey also found that those responding were making an average of $237,360, a 28 percent increase from last year's $185,240. But that wasn't the only good result of the survey. More than 82 percent of respondents said that aligning IT and business was their number-one activity. And while that is basic CIO 101 material, the CIO must move on from that idea to wrestling the other monsters in his job to the ground.

It's important to get on track with everyone else and to stay there and produce. "If other senior executives don't see you as one of them, you usually can't change their minds. You have to realize that," says Roger Parks, vice president of information technology and CIO at J.R. Simplot, a $4.2 billion agribusiness.

For more on crafting your job as a CIO:
- See this CIO Magazine Article

ALSO NOTED: Virtualization management on rise; When best practices are not followed;

Mon, 26 Nov 2007 06:59:58 -0500

> Virtualization management on rise. Article
> When best practices are not followed. Article
> Growing India's software market. Article
> Give thanks that you are in IT. Article

And Finally... The top 10 IT disasters of all time. Article

CIOs on the rise

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 06:59:59 -0500

If you think you are being taken for granted, think again. The CIO is becoming an important part of every organization, even if technology is still in its infancy in a business. The role is only going to get bigger as IT becomes integrated into every company, from best practices to the best business rules. No company can exist without integrating technology into its systems. And with that, the CIO's role is changing as well. There are several reasons for this. CIOs are questioning their roles. And they are in a unique position to be the leader of business transformation. Any company needs an expert who is tech-savvy with vision--not just someone who wants to do it but does not know how. Think about your job when you first got it. It's probably different right now, but no one is quite sure where it is going. Make sure you stay ahead of the curve. Today's CIOs must meet the business demands and skill sets demanded by this position. Can you? Make sure you are not a mismatch.

To read more about the changing role of CIOs:
- See this InformationWeek article

Forrester: 20 ways to make IT work

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 06:59:56 -0500

Sometimes the CIO has to convince the boss that he's on the right path. To help him do that, Forester Research put together a list of best practices that can offer some help in making IT work well. That includes developing new metrics, rescuing outdated processes and making sure your company's business side knows that IT is pulling its weight. All this may help CIOs and their IT managers show superiors their value. Sometimes the business side has to become invested in the IT struggle, and it's the CIO's job to make sure business colleagues are up to speed.

The Forrester list includes plenty of easy solutions, along with some complicated ones. Nothing is every easy in this arena, as most CIOs know. It is important to break down legacy habits and get everyone on board to get IT right. Some days, it seems like a snail crawling, and other days, there are plenty of triumphs. A CIO must know how to roll with the punches.

"There's a ton of these things out there," said Forrester research analyst Phil Murphy. "At least take an inventory of what you're doing and what you're not doing and be aware there are this many things and rate yourself on what you're doing and what you're not doing because changing that could help you."

Forrester's ideas include: Using IT systems performance management audits and software to increase application throughput and managing costs and implementing data center automation to reduce operating costs.

For more ideas to make IT work:
- check out this CIOUpdate article

Today's students, tomorrow's customers

Thu, 11 Oct 2007 06:59:59 -0400

In addition to her other projects, Erin Griffin, the CIO of Loyola Marymount University, and her 65 IT employees are heavily involved with web 2.0 initiatives. She and her team are using Wikis for collaboration as well as using other document sharing and collaboration technologies. Throughout the university, social networking is important. She and her team are on Facebook and they have their own blogs. It's an area that every CIO should be investigating, she says. "I see my peers in the business world just barely waking up to the fact that these students--our customers now--are going to be their employees and their customers very soon. All of these tools and technologies are so critical to the students' existence. It feels to me that the sooner corporate CIOs get using these web 2.0 tools, the better."

To read the full interview:
- click here