awareness

A seat at the table

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 07:59:56 -0400

Until recently, the CIO was considered an afterthought at many companies. But a new study at MIT and Harvard shows that 80 percent of the 175 CIOs polled now consider themselves a valuable member of the executive leadership team. How things have changed! The study was released by IBM in conjunction with the launch of its Center for CIO Leadership. Harvey Koeppel, the center's executive director, says that the study shows an increased awareness by other members of the c-suite with regard to how important CIOs are. "Senior management increasingly recognizes technology as central to innovation and competitive advantage. As a result, more and more CIOs are gaining a prominent seat at the table in their executive teams and are playing an active role in strategic business decisions."

To read more about the growing importance of CIOs:
- see the CIO Update article

Survey: Corporate boards aren't walking the walk when it comes to IT

Wed, 14 Mar 2007 20:01:39 -0400

Corporate board members talk a good game when it comes to taking actions to align IT with corporate strategy, but they aren't supporting efforts to make it happen, according to a new survey from Deloitte Consulting. And doing so is important--the survey noted a significant correlation between the attention paid to IT and corporate performance. Even with this awareness, there is a real gap between the emphasis the board appears to place on IT and the steps they are taking to address it in many companies. Some boards are falling down on supporting IT in other ways. For example, 10 percent of boards relegate IT matters to a board committee, only 11 percent discuss IT at every meeting, and only 14 percent are fully involved in IT strategy. The survey also found that even though 22 percent of the respondents blame various aspects of IT strategy for their companies' inability to achieve its goals, 52 percent say their board will be spending no more time on IT over the next three years than it does now.

Read more about the survey:
- read the press release at PRNewswire

IT gets a bad rap

Mon, 12 Feb 2007 19:01:38 -0500

IT just doesn't get enough respect. Fair or not, the common perception of IT is it's a necessary evil and rarely lives up to expectations. Corporations often view IT as a service function, and IT staff as people who develop systems but don't really understand the business. These negative perceptions make it difficult for IT--and IT organizations--to succeed. To change mindsets, CIOs should do internal marketing to increase understanding, awareness and appreciation of IT-- but that's just the first step. Corporations should start sending CIOs to quarterly calls with Wall Street. That way, financial analysts would learn how important it is. In fact, CEOs should have CIOs at their sides whenever possible.

To read more about IT's perception as a necessary evil:
- check out the blog at CIO

Legal archiving a major concern for CIOs

Thu, 01 Feb 2007 19:01:39 -0500

Legal archiving is the biggest concern on the minds of IT professionals, edging out government compliance, according to a recent survey. In large part, that's because electronic communications, such as email and instant messages, have become critical evidence at trials, and attorneys have pressed this fact on CIOs, increasing both awareness and concern. And CIOs have reason to be concerned, as attorneys have become increasingly tech-savvy, knowing the difference between deleted and backed up data.

Read more about the tension produced by legal archiving:
- read the article at vnunet.com