InformationWeek
Defining The Business Value Of Technology
September 13, 1999
 Print this story |
continued page 2 of 2
Yahre, who secured the position on his own, manages Related's 10-person IT staff, which in the midst of rolling out an accounts-receivable package to 110 of Related's remote property-management sites. Yahre does most of his work remotely from Tampa, Fla., spending a part of each month working at Related's New York offices.
The reasons companies hire temp CIOs are many, but why would executive-level technology professionals hire themselves out as contract workers? Yahre says this kind of arrangement lets him spend time on other technology projects, such as starting his own business. "It's an attractive circumstance for someone like me who has been in executive positions but at the same time hopes to be an entrepreneur." Yahre's startup, Tampa-Bay Systems, develops template-driven, Web document-management systems and tools.
Another draw, Yahre says, is that keeping his hand in as a CIO lets him gather knowledge on how technology and business functions work. "Related is a fairly complex organization with business needs that I wouldn't be exposed to and learn about if I was in a glass house developing software all day," he says. "In the end, working for Related helps me learn how to run my own business."
Analysts say hiring temp CIOs is akin to the trend in recent years of bringing in CEOs on a contract basis to turn around business processes or jump-start strategic initiatives. "This is exactly like the trend of CEOs hired as turnaround artists," says Julie Giera, director of research for IT services at Giga Information Group. "Seeking CIOs as contract workers to help with specific problems is a natural evolution."
Giera says businesses of all sizes are candidates for temporary CIOs. A large company, for example, could use such an executive for a large implementation with definitive time frames, such as an enterprise resource planning application, while midsize companies and startups might hire a temp CIO to lead them through a strategically sensitive time.
Other companies are also turning to temporary CIOs. The Related Cos., a property-management firm in New York, hired Adam Yahre, a contract CIO who is on call full-time but works mainly on specific projects. Michael Brenner, Related's CFO, says filling his company's top technology spot on a contract basis has been beneficial because Related isn't as technology-dependent as other companies, so there's little or no need for a full-time technology chief on staff.
Related links:
And from our sister publication:
return to page 1
Back to This Week's Issue
Featured Microsite
