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The technology you buy and the business you run are merging. That’s blurring the traditional role of CIOs and their business role.
And nothing is driving this more than “the cloud.”
Businesses are moving to cloud. Business–critical applications increasingly rely on cloud systems because employees want to easy-to-use, instantaneous access to data anywhere, from any device.
We see it in the workplace just like we see it in the home. Immediate access to world-class functionality means employees have greater expectations of how they can work.
The challenge is clear to smart CIOs: To bridge the gaps between IT and business units eager for solutions to their business problems.
But budgets aren’t growing at the same pace as those demands for solutions. Smart CIOs are learning to lead with speed and nimbleness, because their employees are getting out ahead with cloud-based services and technologies.
Shadow-IT Runs Rampant
An ESG Research report finds that 29% of marketing employees have made an IT purchase without the involvement of IT.
It’s becoming increasingly obvious that those IT organizations that can’t keep up will become irrelevant. But cloud carries risks that IT must manage, particularly in the security of data and smooth operation of the existing IT infrastructure.
These risks are real—and they can’t be ignored.
What’s needed is a unified vision and approach that meets the organization’s strategic objectives. IT must become increasingly fluent in the language of business, and business leaders must become more conversant in the language of IT.
Enter: The Smart CIO
CIOs who understand business issues—not just IT—are well positioned to take a leadership role, bridging differences between IT and business units, enabling them to define and achieve strategic business objectives.
This provides CIOs with an important role among their fellow executives and peers. They can explain the business opportunities offered by new technology in a way other people on the executive team can’t.
And it’s not limited to the executive team. Getting engineers to think in business terms requires them to better understand what business executives are asking of them and why.
With understanding comes alignment, which allows execs and technologists to focus on the same goal, with a common language.
“In IT, we speak such a different language that it’s a black box,” worries Mark Herschberg, CTO of Madison Logic. “Even if you can say, ‘This is a product we just rolled out, a new website or whatever,’ often [employees] only see the tip of the iceberg.”
Armed with the knowledge of what the business needs and why it needs it, IT departments have an opportunity to play a more strategic role and proactively offer solutions that address business challenges—they can allow the business to create and build on new opportunities. CIOs are in a critical leadership role—guiding their teams toward business objectives together with the business units, rather than simply supplying technology.
“Greater success can be achieved when [IT professionals] work with the business as a partner—and not just a customer,” suggests Dave Rich, director of mobility at CSX.
But How?
This process of integrating IT with the rest of the organization requires a new way of setting structured channels for communication.
Some organizations are adopting “matrix”-style reporting structures, in which a manager and employee directly or indirectly report to a supervisor from a different part of the business.
But communication is a two-way street. To avoid friction, business professionals should make a point of understanding what options are available. That’s wiser than simply demanding a specific technology from IT.
This communication process is key—shadow IT is going to develop, because employees have access to world-class, cloud-based consumer products that allow them to bypass the efforts of IT.
“There really isn’t a firewall or something you can put in that will prevent these [transgressions],” says Vishal Gauri, president of North American operations at Nagarro, Inc. “There are ways to get around everything. It requires education and monitoring.”
The Bottom Line
When CIOs assume a leadership role, IT departments simply do a better job.
That’s because they’re able to deliver applications and cloud services that meet the actual needs of the business.
To read the Economist Intelligence Unit’s e-book, “CIOs in the lead: Aligning business and IT in the age of cloud,” click here.
What's your take? Weigh in with a comment below, and connect with Richard Bliss (Google+) | @RichardBliss (Twitter).
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• Smart CIOs In The Lead: Aligning Business And IT In The Age Of Cloud ~ @RichardBliss
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