CIOs must manage the risk of the status quo
Uptime, response time, mean time between failures - the history of IT is full of metrics improved by reducing risk, making sure nothing interferes with operations and productivity.
Uptime, response time, mean time between failures - the history of IT is full of metrics improved by reducing risk, making sure nothing interferes with operations and productivity.
IT departments were slow to adopt the PC. Adam Hartung says CIOs need to learn from that mistake and be bold about adopting cloud services and mobile computing.
When computing costs dropped like a proverbial stone after 1970, it created a remarkable opportunity for businesses to improve operations and grow. Suddenly, "the guys in the basement" became the IT department, and the data center manager became a very powerful CIO. This new role wielded a large budget and incredible control as companies invested heavily in enterprise applications, immense data repositories and thousands of PCs.
Don't look now, but many company employees are turning off their company-issued laptops and BlackBerrys. They prefer to use their personal devices-sleek, mobile and intuitive-rather than the company-sanctioned technologies perceived as outdated and hard to use.
For years, going back to the days of data centers, people in technology thought their first priority was to make sure the computer systems were operational. Key statistics focused on uptime-making sure the servers, networks and applications were functioning. Meeting such targets was considered success.
Most companies outsource for the wrong reasons: to cut costs or to remove "non-core" distractions in order to focus on "core" IT.
IT departments have often identified closely with their critical vendors. Using a Microsoft platform made you a PC shop; your ERP choice made you an Oracle or SAP shop. The servers you used aligned you with Sun, Microsoft or IBM.
When the CEO wants to reduce IT costs while increasing how much technology the company has, the CIO is squeezed. She is stuck supporting existing systems while needing to spend money to evaluate and implement new technologies. No one is happy when there is a wide gap between where the money is being spent and where you'd like it to be.