CIOs forced to face stark career choices

Some believe chief executives must choose between innovation and traditional IT, others think both is possible

Coby: the omnipresence of IT can create fresh challenges

The parallel themes of analyst Forrester Research’s annual IT Forum were “boosting innovation” and “driving transformation” ­ both buzzphrases frequently associated with the role of chief information officers (CIOs).

Yet the clear message from this year’s conference was that CIOs themselves, rather than the companies they serve, must change if they are to meet future business demands.

The call to action began with Forrester vice president and research director Alex Cullen. On day one of the forum in Lisbon, Cullen issued a warning to the assembled IT leaders.

“Technology is moving beyond traditional IT models,” he said. “And while technology’s place within your organisation is assured, your own role is not.”

Cullen said that the rapid expansion of new, easily-accessible technologies will force CIOs to change the focus of their work. While some will specialise in the management of existing technologies and day-to-day infrastructure, others will become “change agents” ­ experts in using new tools and processes to benefit their company.

“IT is the heart of your business, and you need a general manager to keep it running,” he said. “But if you only expect IT to ‘keep running’, you are expecting too little.

“At the same time, your firm’s use of technology will change radically, and it will need someone to help maximise benefits.”

These change agents will help businesses make the most of new tools such as mash-up applications, which are frequently rejected or ignored at the moment, said Cullen.

He cited the example of an employee who contacts their IT helpdesk for assistance with installing Google Earth, saying they will be commonly disregarded because the application is not an approved product.

Businesses therefore need one figure who is entirely dedicated to new developments, and one who will handle the traditional IT tasks. But CIOs will ultimately be forced to choose a career path.

“Both roles are valuable and needed, but you cannot succeed if you try to do both,” said Cullen.

Not everyone shared his views. Paul Coby, CIO at British Airways, believes is possible for IT managers to straddle both camps.

“I think you have to handle both areas,” he said. “I don’t fully subscribe to Cullen’s conclusion, but his diagnosis is absolutely correct in that CIOs have to be good at orchestrating things.”

Coby said that the real challenge for CIOs lies with simultaneously handling legacy systems and the presence of new systems in previously non-technological areas. This pressure point contributed to the widely-publicised problems at Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 5 (T5) earlier this year.

“IT is in everything now and so if you’re the CIO, it is ultimately your responsibility,” he said.

“When the baggage handling systems at T5 didn’t work, we were called in. Although the systems were electro-mechanical, they were commanded by IT systems ­ and those had been implemented very badly.”

Yet the task of directly interacting with such systems may not always fall to the CIO.

In large organisations, the rapid growth of new technologies could force a more instructive and less hands-on approach, said Marc Cecere, principal analyst at Forrester.

“I think you will see less direct problem-solving,” he said. “The CIO will be the one who sets up processes to let others resolve issues.

“Traditionally CIOs have been brought up as problem solvers, because they are comfortable with technology and they develop in the trenches, so to speak. But with large companies that will no longer be feasible.”

In the short term, IT managers may be frustrated as they let others deal with issues. In the long term, however, this will be outweighed by the benefit of having a computer expert in a position more directly aligned with the boardroom.

By spending more time concentrating on business processes, CIOs can promote the technologies and strategies that can help transform a business ­ as well as helping chief executives to understand the limitations of IT.

But even in this adjusted role, awareness and experience of computers will play a vital part in the job, said Cecere.

“CIOs will always have some form of technical knowledge, because they will always be approached by people with potential new projects. You need a certain level of experience to ask the right questions,” he said.

Without these skills, CIOs risk being left in the unenviable position of retaining responsibility for a project, without the requisite degree of control.

“If a CIO lacks this knowledge, then an interesting dysfunction arises: They become dependent on the person proposing the idea, or bring in a consultant to ask the questions for them. This tends to make staff very nervous,” said Cecere.