Monday, December 17, 2007 9:04 AM/EST
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There are two types of CIOs: change agents and general managers, according to Forrester Researech. Others might call them strategic and utility operators. Either way, Forrester sees seven trends that will shape their roles in 2008 and perhaps their careers in the future. |
"The change agent CIO is continually increasing credibility and influence with CEO and LOB execs as a source of high-value perspective on the business, and has the skills to shepherd change," Forrester vice president and research director Alex Cullen writes in the just-published report. "This CIO has built an IT organization with senior staff who know their mission, continuously improve their operations and have developed the skills to anticipate and prepare for business needs."
For the change agent in 2008, Cullen sees:
Strengthen joint IT-business planning through use of model-based planning. Creating linked business and IT plans is a struggle unless there is a common language and framework for planning.
Restructure organizations to foster alignment. Change agent CIOs will structure their organizations to get as close to the business as possible by dispersing staff into business areas to gain business knowledge and act as technology advisors.
Foster strategic planning and architecture as key competencies. Change agent CIOs will ensure that strategic plan development, update and review is a continuing and tuned process.
Strengthen their roles on the executive team and with the board of directors. Change agent CIOs parlay their enterprisewide perspective to identify business model-based opportunities for customer intimacy, operational excellence and innovation.
General manager CIOs will concentrate their efforts on boosting the efficiency and operational excellence of IT. "Business execs and staff are IT's customers and the general manager CIO creates an organization focused on supplying what these customers request and are able to fund," Cullen writes. "This CIO role is not new and arguably has been the default role since the dot-com meltdown."
Here are three evolving roles Cullen predicts for the general manager CIO in 2008:
Structure their organizations to drive standardization of technology, applications and processes. Standardization is the key to driving down IT costs and driving up quality and consistency.
Improve transparency, measurement and monitoring to uncover efficiencies. In 2008, more GM CIOs will create performance feedback loops from application, project,and infrastructure efforts, thereby increasing the effectiveness of operational planning and execution.
Assume management of other corporate shared services. Recognized for their expertise at running shared service IT organizations, GM CIOs will adopt other shared-service organizations that might include anything from facilities management to customer service. The new responsibilities will expand CIO career options, with the limitation that these are functions in which the goals are quality service at a managed cost.
