The InformationWeek -- Blogs
Welcome Guest. | Log In| Register | Membership Benefits

CIOs Uncensored

Topics:   CIOs Uncensored

  • Email this page E-mail this page
  • Print this page Print this page
  • Bookmark and Share
  • icon

CIOs, Your Vendors Are Avoiding You!


Posted by Brian Gillooly, May 8, 2007 05:41 PM

I'm sitting in ballroom A at the Santa Clara Convention Center for Software 2007, watching Marc Benioff walk through a product demo (when are software CEOs who keynote industry events going to resist the temptation to put an audience to sleep with a demo and instead talk about compelling issues like overhauling restrictive maintenance contracts, promoting customer-driven innovation, and the like?). Earlier today I moderated a panel that included Dennis Moore, head of emerging technologies at SAP Labs, and Cliff Reeves, GM of Microsoft's .NET platform strategy. Both Moore and Reeves each dropped a mini bombshell about how their companies will approach customers in the future -- and it involves bypassing the CIO...


Moore said that more frequently, SAP is side-stepping the CIO in the purchase process in order to get to the people he says are more frequently pushing for software features and functionality, namely the line of business managers and their direct reports. This is interesting news, coming on the heels of our own Defining the CIO research, which clearly indicates growing influence by the CIO.

But let's look at that in another light. Our research clearly shows the CIO is influencing his or her own business more, it doesn't mean the CIO has to be at the forefront of every sale. Moore and Reeves both said that it's still not possible to cut out the CIO from the sale, but the two execs did say that their impetus is to get the sale done, and that sometimes the CIO can be a fly in the ointment.

One CIO, Shaun Coyne of Toyota Financial Services, who was in the audience, would have nothing of it. While he acknowledges he doesn't want to be in on every sale ("that's what delegation is all about," he said), he finds this trend -- if it is, indeed, a trend -- a bit disturbing. Oddly, he didn't point his consternation at the vendors, but rather at the business folks with the organization. "There's got to be a level of trust for what the roles of IT and the business are," he said. "If that trust is broken, and they try to create rogue IT shops in the business, that creates more problems over time."

I'm going to fish around for more on this. Is it a disturbing trend or is it the last desperate efforts of vendors who are still trying to squeeze some utility out of a business model that CIOs have been trying to get changed?

« AltaVista Search Researcher Recalls Days Of End User 'Technical Support' | Main | The Real Value of Web Services »



Sign Up Now
For InformationWeek News Alerts




This is a public forum. United Business Media and its affiliates are not responsible for and do not control what is posted herein. United Business Media makes no warranties or guarantees concerning any advice dispensed by its staff members or readers.

Community standards in this comment area do not permit hate language, excessive profanity, or other patently offensive language. Please be aware that all information posted to this comment area becomes the property of United Business Media LLC and may be edited and republished in print or electronic format as outlined in United Business Media's Terms of Service.

Important Note: This comment area is NOT intended for commercial messages or solicitations of business.




 
InformationWeek Chief Of The Year:
Call For Nominations
Know a dynamic, future-oriented tech chief? We're looking for the most insightful, innovative, forward-thinking business technology leader to honor as our 2008 Chief Of The Year. "Tomorrow's CIO" is the theme of our InformationWeek 500 Conference, and of a recent in-depth InformationWeek Analytics Report based on our extensive survey. The qualities identified with Tomorrow's CIO—equal parts leadership, vision, business savvy, technology expertise--are what we're looking for in our Chief Of The Year.

Candidates must be CIOs, CTOs, or VP-of-IT level executives. Nominations will be accepted now through Oct. 31, 2008.

Please send your nominations to: cjmurphy@techweb.com.



Sign Up For The CIOs Uncensored Newsletter
Every Thursday, Chris Murphy and his fellow analysts explore the business, strategy, and management issues most important to IT leaders.

Sign up for our free, weekly newsletter today!

Newsletter Archives


Global CIO Video

 

  1. Here's to the First Responders!
  2. HPC Joins the Dummy Revolution?
  3. Detecting Scalability Problems With Intel Parallel Universe Portal


Join The InformationWeek Group On LinkedIn


                           


  1. Samsung Redefines Vaporware: 'Bada'
  2. HTC Droid Eris To Get Android 2.0 Update
  3. Verizon Wireless Starts Updating The Motorola Droid
  4. Windows 7 Upgrades Drop Ball On Data Migration


  1. Feds Launch Internet Healthcare Initiatives
  2. Global CIO: Why SAP Won't Match Oracle's 22% Maintenance Fees
  3. Red Hat Makes Virtualization Protocol Open Source
  4. Apple Tablet Eyed For March Release
  5. Facebook Christmas Worm Spreads Holiday Infection
  6. AT&T To Curb Smartphone Data Use

 

  Ars Technica
Boing Boing
Channel 9 Forums
CRN Blogs
Dr.Dobb's Portal: Blogs
Engadget
Gizmodo
GrokLaw
  Lifehacker
Schneier on Security
Slashdot
TechCrunch
Techdirt
Techmeme
Valleywag

  DECEMBER 2008
NOVEMBER 2008
OCTOBER 2008
SEPTEMBER 2008
AUGUST 2008
JULY 2008
JUNE 2008
MAY 2008
  APRIL 2008
MARCH 2008
FEBRUARY 2008
JANUARY 2008
DECEMBER 2007
NOVEMBER 2007
OCTOBER 2007
SEPTEMBER 2007