Welcome
Posted by Keith Carlson
Welcome to our new 21st Century CIO Blog, where we will contemplate the topics and issues affecting today's CIO including Technology Innovation, IT Governance Best Practices, Partnering with the Business, and the Business of IT.
The experiences shared in this blog will be extremely practical, drawn upon from our shared experiences. My posts will be based on my experience running technology organizations and delivering hundreds of technology projects over the course of 25 years, but perhaps the most interesting stories I have to share will come as a result of the meetings I have with CIO's around the country and the world. One of the greatest benefits of my job is that I have the privilege of meeting with CIO's, listening to their experiences, and understanding the challenges they face daily.
In looking at the challenges facing today's CIO, I'm struck by the recent IBM study of 2,500 CIOs entitled, "The New Voice of the CIO." This groundbreaking study interviewed (in-person, mind you) 2,500 CIOs in 78 countries and 19 industries and discussed their challenges, changing demands, and strategies. One of the most striking statistics is that an impressive 55 percent of their time is spent on activities that spur innovation and 45 percent of their time is spent on more traditional CIO tasks related to "managing the ongoing technology environment." How does this statistic compare to what I commonly hear from CIO's:
- "We spend 25% of our time on strategic activities and 75% of our time on KTLO (Keep The Lights On) activities." CIO, large media and entertainment company
- "IT has a poor reputation for delivery ... the business can't rely on IT." CIO, Major University
- "IT needs to be more fact and data-driven, rather than gut-feel." CIO, Health Care Organization
These are the most common quotes I hear from CIOs. Are these at odds with the results of the IBM study? I don't think so. I think the IBM study is actually a leading indicator of where CIOs are going: they're spending most of their time helping the business, but realize they also need to help themselves.
This is a classic case of the cobbler's children having no shoes. I'm struck by the fact that over $3.4T is spend annually on IT, but most IT organizations currently manage themselves on a cobbled-together system of spreadsheets and PowerPoint presentations!
I believe that the most innovative CIO's are working hard to align the strategic objectives of the business with the activities being done in the IT organization. And they're doing it with facts and data. You can't align the business with IT, unless you know the priorities of the business ... and you can't align IT with the business without knowing where IT spends its time. It's all about facts and data.