The IT Beacon

Tech Sector - Go South Young Man!

Just back from Johannesburg. As far as I can see Africa is a hi-tech gold mine. Massive infrastructure opportunities and nearly a billion apps-expectant consumers.

Though it's not enough to be there. You need the excavation tools. 

Support your CIO!

The role of the CIO is at an all time low in terms of strategic influence. Their decision making powers, even over their own budget, have been reined in.

Some ‘score on the doors’ sales-focused vendors will be tempted by bypass the CIO in order to try to deal direct with the CFO, COO or whoever actually is making IT-related decisions these days.

In my view that would be a mistake. The CIO is likely to be the person who best ‘gets’ the features and benefits of your offering. And thus is best placed to sell your solution to the decision makers.  

The problem is that often CIO lacks the skills to get into the boardroom. High value (and thus big ticket) vendors will invest in their CIO relationships, where necessary supporting their personal development. When you realise that the CIO is fundamentally no longer the buyer but your vendor’s chief sales officer for that account then this starts to make sense.

e-Skills: Diversity - A key competence

The IT industry needs more people that can bridge the cultural gaps that exist in the business ecosystem.

A technologist that cannot empathise with a user is no good to anyone. A procurement officer that doesn’t understand the issues that vendors face is similarly going to be a net absorber of value.

We need people who can bridge the many gaps that exist between the IT function and its suppliers and buyers. Only then will the ‘demilitarised zone’ that sits between the IT function and the rest of the world fade away.

But this is not just an IT industry problem. Users and vendors need to build their diversity skills too.

CIO: The Vendor Bank

Here’s an idea to ensure your vendors have genuine ‘skin in the game’. Take their money. That’s right let them finance your capex requirements.

Most of the big players are sitting on cash. They know they will get a better return on investing in you than leaving it in a savings account.

If it serves you well, then test their commitment by using the cash to buy their rivals' products.

That will show who is genuinely committed to helping your organisation.

Such vendors should be removed from your preferred supplier list. And invited into your partner circle.

More CIO posts, click here.

CIO: Supply or Demand?

The usual business model is to create demand (aka customer relationship management) and then fulfil the associated order (supply chain management).

Both are needed. And it is increasingly common for elements of either or both to be outsourced to a third party. Outsourced elements tend to be of lower relative value to the organisation, but that bar is rising as I write.

So the question is whether your IT function is supply or demand focused?

The former model requires keeping the machines ticking over, with non-cyclic activities being triggered by system failures or user requests. Sustainable organisations that make no effort to stimulate demand in their customer base are exceedingly rare. And similarly IT functions that make no effort to influence the ‘buying’ habits of the users is destined to spiral into oblivion.

Forward thinkers in the market are encouraging CIOs to move their focus from supply to demand. Hand over the technology elements to those that (are at least supposed to) do supply well, ie the vendors. The demand-focused IT function is business-oriented, proactive and constantly looking for ways to use IT in innovative ways in respect of cost management, governance and business value.

The demand-focused IT function has a skeleton staff management team focused on supply, and thus supplier management. It also has an enterprise architecture team to ensure the integrity, reliability and suitability of the technology underpinning the business. However the majority of the IT function is customer-facing.

What were technologists are now business consultants with a strong grasp of how IT can improve the organisation. These consultants challenge user thinking. They are service oriented but not servile. Partnership is key.

In my view the worth of the CIO needs to be measured less by headcount and data centre footprint. The new focus needs to be more on customer satisfaction and the KPIs that the business as a whole is working to.

Don’t fight the vendors because they ultimately control the supply of technology. Accept that and work with them by repositioning the IT function as what is in essence the IT industry’s customer experience function.