InformationWeek
Defining The Business Value Of Technology
September 20, 1999
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continued...page 4 of 4
Keeping Pace
In the current environment, flexibility is key and old rules just don't apply. Barry, for example, doesn't standardize on a product until he meets with a vendor to determine the product's life expectancy and to perform an internal risk evaluation. "IBM and 3Com have been phenomenally forthright about how long they plan to offer certain products, which, in turn, helps us make buying and planning decisions," he says. "We couldn't survive without this type of information."
Indeed, keeping up with technology and the pace of change is the No. 3 business priority for 1999, up from No. 5 just three months ago. "It requires far more interaction with key vendors and is eating up 10% to 15% more of our IT staff's time," says Niraj Patel, CIO at GMAC Commercial Mortgage Corp. In the past, GMAC's research and development unit looked at emerging technologies and new products. Now that's part of the IT staff's job. "We have to make sure we know what's coming as well," he says.
For Nabisco's Fordham, charged with Web-site development, integration, and evolution, change is becoming the norm. The company's 20-plus brand-specific Web sites may be consolidated and new ones created. These changes are sanctioned from the company's highest ranks. "To give you an idea of the importance of the new unit, the chairman realizes this is a business initiative and not a technology initiative," says Nabisco CIO Doreen Wright. "Technology's the enabler."
Now that's something to sweat about.
With additional reporting by Rick Whiting
As a result, "We will get a much better picture of what the customer means to Sears as an enterprise and what potential business opportunities exist," says system manager Mark Sherman. With the data warehouse, for example, marketers can identify customers who bought appliances on credit and may be good prospects for purchasing extended warranties or maintenance services. "The cross-selling opportunities are just gigantic," Sherman says.
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The backdrop to all of this customer focus is the huge changes taking place in most industries. To Entergy's Orton, the biggest challenges are in the restructuring of the utility industry due to deregulation. For others, such as Jim Barry, CIO at Insurance Holdings of America Inc., dealing with change means simultaneously keeping pace with new industry regulations and with new technology. 
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