InformationWeek

A combination of IT and business executives sign off on services contracts in nearly half the companies (48%) that use service providers for E-business, according to the InformationWeek Research survey. Of the remainder, 26% entrust that responsibility to a senior IT executive or the CIO, 14% to the CEO or CFO, and 9% to senior business unit executives. Not surprisingly, the CEO or CFO approves contracts at a much higher percentage of companies with less than $100 million in revenue (23%) than companies larger than $1 billion (7%).

Typical of the business-IT management alliance is the leadership at Barclays Global Investors, the world's largest manager of stock-indexed assets with $800 billion in managed funds. Barclays' Internet initiatives are jointly led by Kathy Taylor, head of global marketing, and Paul Stevens, head of global technology. They share leadership of an E-business team called I-Core, which has about 25 dedicated staffers at Barclays' headquarters, plus several more in business units who spend part of their time on E-business.

I-Core's charter is to determine hardware and software requirements for E-business, establish best-practice templates for the company, offer training and generally "evangelize" E-business. The Barclays-Garage, known as B-Garage, serves as a sort of in-house incubator for company Web initiatives. I-Core staffers who work on B-Garage help determine which E-business projects should be funded and help internal E-business entrepreneurs maneuver through the formal budgeting process.

"We think it's very important to avoid the institutional mind-set and get innovative ideas on the fast track," Taylor says. The only prerequisites for B-Garage projects are that they be Web-based and relevant to Barclays' business.

I-Core coordinates all Web or intranet activities, including the selection of hardware, software, and service providers. In addition to I-Core, each of Barclays' five regional business units around the world has a designated E-business strategist who works with the leadership at company headquarters in San Francisco.

Barclays has engaged a variety of service providers for its E-business efforts led by PricewaterhouseCoopers. The consulting firm, which is also Barclays' audit company, helped Barclays with Web-site development and design of I-Shares, the online gateway to Barclays' indexed exchange-traded funds. It also assisted Barclays on overall E-business strategies for two of its corporate pension products.

"We've had a relationship with them for a long time and have a high level of confidence in their expertise," Taylor says. Barclays has also used its advertising agency, Saatchi & Saatchi, for help with Web-site design, Zephyr Solutions for Web-site construction, and application service provider Extensity for an online expense-report processing application.