EDITORIAL RAHUL NEEL MANI | rahul.mani@9dot9.in
Blue-eyed boys CIOs who can also drive revenues are the strongest contenders for the top job.
O
ne of the most frustrating factors in a CIO’s life is that in large parts of the industry, IT is still considered to be a cost centre—a function that CEOs and CFOs eye with scepticism, and for which they do not sanction budgets easily. When they do, there is the pressure to demonstrate a quick RoI. Many of you are likely to agree that an IT function often receives the "step-motherly" treatment within an enterprise. In the majority of cases, this is
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because the CIO is viewed as a "capital-intensive" black box! It is no surprise then, that a CEO doesn’t consider you as his partner in growth. How can we, as a community, change this? How can a CIO become the blue-eyed boy of a CEO? Should CIOs be revenue-driven to get into the big league? In my opinion, the notion of IT being a cost centre, instead of being a shared corporate resource that may be leveraged for a company’s revenue
Shunning the Primitive Style
It is high time CIOs should look at modernising their application infrastructure and move on to cheaper and faster platforms.
growth, is an antiquated idea that detracts CIOs from achieving agility, or better business outcomes. But, it is true that only some CIOs are making an effort to be revenue driven. There is no doubt that in today’s economy, CEOs will seek out CIOs, who, apart from finding cost-efficient and businesseffective means to run IT, can also leverage their expertise for the growth and profitability of organisations. If the CIOs want to be considered as a business-oriented person, they should morph their cost centre into a profit centre. CIOs will have to win business, or perish. This model can be extended to servicing organisations in the same industry. Ones that imbibe this approach will find it easier to get on the Board, and eventually, become CEOs. Needless to add that a
CIO stands for Chief Information Officer, and not a Chief Infrastructure Officer. Another likely model could be a "non-profit" model where you charge-back for services to your internal clients and either break-even, or make a small profit at the end of a year. However, a not-for-profit model also means that you have to have your service-level agreements in place—solid metrics that will show your performance. The risky aspect is that if you don't perform, your clients might look outside for the same services—so, you better have a good organisation set-up in place to perform properly. Are you set to become the CEO’s blue-eyed boy?
CTO FORUM thectoforum.com
07 JUNE 2010
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