CIOs and other extinct animals

We’ve said it in the past so it’s well-worn territory, but it’s not hard to see the days of the CIO are numbered. Today’s VP of Sales or Marketing has an integrated view of the tools at their disposal and they’re the ones driving technology initiatives, not being supported by them. So what does that mean for IT? The CIOs job is splitting into high value and low value roles. At the low end, and there’s no nice way to say this, supporting the technology infrastructure will become a facilities job. Like the phones and taking out the trash, users will notice if it’s not working but not notice if it is. At the other end, technology analysts will take on the role of in-house business consultants but face increasing competition from outside experts. The perceived business expertise brought by these in-house experts will go up against the functional expertise in marketing, sales, operations, and accounting brought by outside consultants. The challenge for IT is remaining relevant. Given the choice, will the corporate controller rely on IT or outside experts when selecting a new accounting system? Some recent experiences here at Nucleus found IT was included in the decision only grudgingly and with rolled eyes. Far from supporting initiatives, in these recent cases IT has been seen as the keeper of the corporate standards rather than the driver of innovation. We’ve been talking about it, but as the CIOs role becomes little more than ceremonial, it really is time for IT to redefine itself.