World-class IT requires the IT group to function as the central nervous system of the organization.
ON Magazine Second Quarter 2010
by Peter High
This is an exciting time for information technology executives. Not so long ago, business executives thought of the CIO as less than a peer—a “C-level” executive in name only. This was due to a combination of factors such as a lack of appreciation for what IT can do for a company, differing educational and skill backgrounds, and an inability among some IT executives to speak the business’s language. In fact, one did not need to go too deeply into the IT organization to find people who had difficulty articulating what the business did on a day-to-day basis.
The past decade has brought about a shift in many IT departments. The best CIOs realize they have a unique perch in the organization, which, if understood well, allows them to weave the IT function into the fabric of all other divisions in a way no other group has the reason or the means to do. There are opportunities for creative and forward-looking IT executives to champion innovative initiatives that serve many parts of the organization. Similarly, IT is in a position to recognize where there are redundancies, inefficiencies, excess capacity, or systems that are working at cross-purposes.
To read the remainder of this article, please visit page 27 of the Second Quarter 2010 publication of ON Magazine.
The article covers:
IT’s Role as the Central Nervous System
Strengthening the Weaker Links
Five principles that contribute to IT excellence
