Stories by Matt Rodgers

The CRM strategy initiated by Australia's Child Support Agency had an unusual aim: to encourage clients to look after themselves and rely on the agency less.

For Sam Gennaoui, CIO of Novell's Asia Pacific operations, being a CIO is about a lot more than managing the 23-year-old networking company's infrastructure and aligning IT with the business. Gennaoui deals with the same pressures and challenges as most CIOs, but with an added twist: he knows that the solutions he deploys today will have a direct impact on the way other CIOs use technology in years to come.

When it comes to IT shops, they don't get much bigger than Intel's. With upwards of 83,000 employees spread across 71 countries, the microprocessor manufacturing giant poses many unique challenges for its IT organisation, not the least of which is supporting the people who build the new technologies that will shape the future of computing.

When South Australia's Port Adelaide Enfield Council decided to implement a new e-procurement system its IT leaders knew the move would save the local government body a great deal of money. What they didn't count on, however, was just how useful it would be in getting rid of unwanted bureaucracy.

When Peter Yarrington was recruited as CIO for Australian brokerage firm JBWere, his new employers made no bones about was expected of him: he was being hired to totally rethink the 160-year-old company's use of IT. At that time, JBWere was stuck in an IT time warp; the company's IT operations relied on an ageing IBM mainframe purchased in the early 80s that was running even older broking applications

After spending two years in the US helping to rebuild Barclays Global Investments’ IT infrastructure, Craig Squires was ready to come home to Australia. His solution to a home transfer? Put BGI’s new technology to the test by managing the company’s IT operations from Sydney.

After spending two years in the US helping to rebuild Barclays Global Investments' IT infrastructure, Craig Squires was ready to come home to Australia. His solution to a home transfer? Put BGI's new technology to the test by managing the company's IT operations from Sydney.

Since its purchase of Jaguar Racing two years ago, automotive giant Ford has tried everything to improve the fortunes of its Formula One racing team, including the introduction of CIO James Saville.

Plenty of Australian local councils have Web sites. Almost as many deliver services to their residents electronically. But only Victoria's Whittlesea Council has won the federal government's National AAward for Innovation in Local Government two years in a row.

From Queensland to Tasmania, CIO Government found three local councils who've learned how to make the Internet yield benefits without the vast budgets or technical resources their big city brethren take for granted.

Innovation requires taking risks but also listening to your customers.

Who's got it tougher? CIOs working in the public sector or their private sector counterparts?

Not all hackers are bad guys. But understanding what motivates them can make you less vulnerable to an attack