IT Leaders Summit: Will the CMO ever replace the CIO?

It's a real question for some IT leaders, but the relationship may be better viewed in a more constructive way

It was a question bordering on the absurd, which raised a belly laugh from an assembled audience of IT leaders. But it was one that had to be asked, in order to kick off a conversation about the growing importance of the relationship between IT and marketing bosses.

Big data is still the main preoccupation when considering the issue, and the amount of data sharing IT and marketing could - and should - be doing represents huge possibilities for organisations moving forwards.

"If the CMO doesn't know how or what IT can do, then the organisation loses," MEC's global director of technology, Trevor Attridge, told the audience.

He used the example of Target, whose data breach in March this year didn't just result in the CIO's resignation, but those of a number of board-level executives.

Attridge also remarked that, whilst it's unlikely that we will see many CMOs taking over CIO roles directly, there is that possibility where the CIO fails to adapt to the times. He added that the reverse situation could potentially also be true.

"The marketing job is now in tech - in fact, old school marketeers have the same job security fears," commented Attridge.

And a CMO listening to a digital marketing pitch without the ear of a CIO is indulging in a "hugely risky" practice, said Attridge.

After Attridge's session, Computing caught up with Chris Shaw, Intel's IT director for EMEA and APAC, and Stuart Dommett, business IT evangelist and head of business marketing in the UK for Intel. They have worked together for 14 years, criss-crossing the worlds of sales, marketing and IT.

Shaw said he sees their ongoing contact as demonstrative of "the value of building those relationships through your career".

"The relationship can foster a lot of positive things," said Shaw.

"Stuart's a fantastic advocate for marketing and IT, and gives us a seat at the table for many of the decisions we make across Europe, and a lot of that is borne out of the relationship we've forstered over the years."

Shaw said knowledge of both worlds "moves your business proposition forward faster."

Dommett, who began his career as an IT project manager, agreed, telling Computing:

"Coming from an IT background into marketing, you understand more about the challenges an IT organisation faces.

"You don't set unrealistic expectations - or try not to. You try to do things where you can both [IT and marketing] win, and push boundaries more because you know what they can achieve, and are more attuned to listening to their creativity."

Dommett described how, when working with Shaw's team, he understands that IT "is what they do on a day to day basis," and so will always encourage IT to "give me what they want me to see, rather than telling them what I want".

The full Computing interview with Shaw and Dommett is a available in a video shot at the summit.