Are The CIO And IT Organization Replaceable? - InformationWeek

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Comments
Are The CIO And IT Organization Replaceable?
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JimC
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JimC,
 User Rank: Apprentice
10/10/2012 | 10:22:42 AM
re: Are The CIO And IT Organization Replaceable?
"Selling software but not understanding information technology is unacceptable. If you sell software, I expect you to know what you're talking about."

That's a paraphrased statement made by IT pros who licensed or recommended software products many years ago. Today's IT (hardware, software, professional services, outsourcing, etc.) decisions are often made by non-technical executives who've had their heads filled with smoke by non-technical salespeople. This salesperson can be profiled as someone with a Bachelor's Degree in Theater Arts, plus an MBA, who golfs.
kmarko
50%
50%
kmarko,
 User Rank: Strategist
10/9/2012 | 9:58:29 PM
re: Are The CIO And IT Organization Replaceable?
This reminds me of the "Does IT Matter" debate Nick Carr started almost 10 years ago. Many of his points still ring true, it just took longer to get to a utility-like IT market (i.e. cloud, SaaS) than many of us expected at the time. But we're definitely there now.
MyW0r1d
50%
50%
MyW0r1d,
 User Rank: Strategist
10/9/2012 | 7:21:50 PM
re: Are The CIO And IT Organization Replaceable?
A business case can easily be made for SMBs that can operate on OTS cloud or SAAS offerings as LivingSocial has done. It becomes a little more complex in larger businesses where highly customized applications and software development is done as a critical part of the competitive advantage. That said, an MBA based CIO who doesn't understand IT or a CIO who does not become intimate with innovation or in my opinion more importantly with BPM is one with tunnel vision that deserves to be seen as excess or redundant. They should be pushing to be synonymous with these two functions.


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