cultures

The role of the CTO

Tue, 22 May 2007 20:01:39 -0400

While the role of CIO is fairly well-defined, the role of CTO is less so. Individual organizational requirements and cultures determine CTO roles. Some CTOs report to the CIO and some don't, but either way, a synergistic relationship between the two is necessary for success. One type of CTO is an infrastructure line manager, responsible for data center operations, desktop and network management and information security. This type of CTO reports directly to the CIO. A second type is the "elite CTO," who has a small staff of technology experts who focus on limited-scope technology projects. A third type is the traditional visionary, who functions as an enterprise technology advocate and problem-solver. The fourth type is the "disruptive visionary", who tries to create leading-edge IT capabilities quickly for strategic mission advantage. This type of CTO is rare. No matter what type of CTO you have, however, they must be chartered with specific goals, tailored to prevailing or aspirational cultures and accountable for outcome-based results.

Learn more about CTOs:
- read the article at Government Computer News

ALSO:
- read this on how the lines between CIO and CTO are blurring
- and this on the role of the CTO

The next generation of IT leaders

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

There is a growing awareness that the skill set of the IT managers has to change. A new book, Five minds for the future, by Harvard professor Howard Gardner, explains how the next generation of IT leaders will be chosen. Gardner says that tomorrow's IT leaders must exhibit the ability to use what he calls the five minds: the disciplined mind, which shows a mastery of technology; the synthesizing mind, which will collate information from many sources to make decisions; the creating mind, which comes up with new ideas; the respectful mind, which understands different personality types and cultures; and the ethical mind, which thinks of the wider needs of society.

Learn more about the five minds of the future:
- read the article at vnunet.com

ALSO:
- read this on deconstructing the successful IT leader
- this on the makings of a true leader
- this on why being a leader and a techie is a balancing act
- and this on skills that make for a great leader

Will SOA help or hinder the alignment of business and IT?

Wed, 21 Feb 2007 19:01:38 -0500

Theoretically, a company's business culture can benefit from absorbing the principles of SOA (Service-Oriented Architecture), a conceptual approach to computing, people and processes. Whether it will succeed, however, depends in large part on corporate culture and the type of management structure already in place. For example, SOA might be particularly useful in a tightly organized and centralized corporate environment, since it can promote more unified IT methods, with high reuse and standardized ways to assemble and provide services. Decentralized organizations that value innovation also can benefit from SOA. Core services can be made available to units, or each unit can acquire and create processes geared toward their specific needs. The best way to ensure success of SOA in the enterprise is for companies to understand their own cultures.

Learn more about whether your company will succeed with SOA:
- read the article at RedmondDeveloper

Related articles on SOA:
- for the basics on SOA, read this
- for more on whether SOA will work in your environment, read this
- for the four stages of successful SOA, read this
- for a case study on SOA, read this
- for information on using SOA to boost e-commerce efforts, read this