Cometh the hour, cometh the CIO

IT is going through a transformation. It used to be synonymous with hype and excitement, but now the trend is far more business-like.

Economic crises, political instability and declining business confidence mean companies will increasingly depend on their IT systems and CIOs will be the critical leaders.

As this is written, Gartner Symposium/ITxpo 2008, in Cape Town, is in its final hours. It is the sixth year in a row that I have attended the event. Taking a brief glance at my notes from previous years shows how the view of the IT sector and what it should be excited about has changed considerably.

From 2002 until 2004, there was a lot of talk around new technologies, the famous hype-cycles and what vendors were well positioned to be the winners in the various races to grab customers~O attention. Then the shift moved from gadgets to connecting the enterprise, making use of network-centric technologies and using the Internet to deliver software and services.

Interestingly, people, rather than technology, became the underlying theme of the past two years, illustrating it is not only about having the gadgets, but that you need the right people to make them work.

Interestingly, people, rather than technology, became the underlying theme of the past two years.

Paul Vecchiatto, Cape Town correspondent, ITWeb

This year, despite the initial talk around the main theme of `OGreening IT'O, I felt the real corridor discussions were around how a company can do more with what it has. While the social and environmental discussions were important, they were tempered with the pragmatic view on how an IT division can really contribute to a company~Os bottom line and continue to justify its expenses.

Andy Kite, Gartner VP and fellow, stated in his presentation: `OThe real transformation will be to move an IT department from being a cost centre to one that is an asset. This means a fundamental way of changing our thinking about how we value software as a company values assets such as property.'O

The point was clear. IT has become so embedded in any organisation~Os make up that it is no longer the `Onice to have'O, or the `Owe must do it because it is somewhat necessary'O. Rather, an organisation cannot do anything without its IT systems in place.

Mark Raskino, another Gartner VP and fellow, pointed out that a new breed of CIO is rising. `OThose CIOs who are in their early 40s have grown up with a lot of the technologies that are taken for granted. Unlike the previous generation who could hardly use a keyboard, this lot understand that networking and collapsing the pyramid is not an issue.'O

His point was that the newer generation of IT staff does not think in a hierarchical manner, as networking tools allow them to break out of the silo mentality that used to be the norm.

Steve Masters, head of BT~Os global convergence propositions, stated the problem with silos `O'Eis there is only one way in and one way out. What we are doing [at BT] is turning them into centres of excellence with a depth of specialist knowledge. They will pull in experts from other centres of excellence for various tasks or projects as and when needed.'O

Masters said BT is reducing the average age of its product development lifecycle from 18 months to six months, as speed to market becomes more critical.

This illustrates the flexibility that IT systems should enable. Bringing in information when needed that is analysed, sorted and used to act on in a short period of time. Moving from a cost burden to one that is considered an asset and a differentiator, and then finding and retaining the right people.

Doing all of this in times of economic uncertainty is going to be tough and that is why the successful CIOs of today will be the CEOs of the future.

* Side note: For the first time, I came across members of an international venture capital (VC) fund at the symposium. They were trying to determine the international trends that South African companies could take advantage of. An interesting view and one wonders where the other VC funds are gathering their information.