The IT Beacon

Vendors: Network network network

Big ticket technology sales rarely come from cold calls. Moving beyond the 'scores on the doors' 'end of week sales funnel' mindset is a challenge for many tech vendors.

Master networker Alan MacKelworth provides some sage advice on how to work an event.

Click here to watch his 4 minute briefing.

Happy networking!

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.

Beyond the downturn?

There is much talk about how IT functions are going to change once the downturn has run its course. There is a presumption here that:

• The downturn will end (though history tells us they generally do)
• The financial beating taken by the IT function will be reversed once the organization is back on an even keel.

At this present time I am doubtful about both. And so CIOs are encouraged to think about how they change the IT function under what might be called ‘new normal’ conditions.

e-Brand Management

The difference between the cost of a company and the value of a company is directly correlated to the brand of the company. Therefore it makes sense to approach all value creation activities in the context of brand management.

The IT function might use this relationship to shake off its operational cost centre image.

So am I suggesting we appoint an IT function brand manager? No. In my experience CIOs struggle with branding. This is to some extent understandable given the siege conditions under which many IT functions operate. I suspect brand management doesn’t feature very highly in military academy trench warfare modules.

In a service / knowledge based economy, branding extends beyond the glossary literature and corporate sponsorship into the service creation and delivery processes (increasingly via the web).  Thus the IT function is a key element of corporate brand management.

And for that reason the IT function should report into the Chief Marketing Officer. Whilst this may be unpalatable to many of today’s ‘pre-brand’ CIOs, IT staff are likely to raise their game once it dawns on them that their role is now one of business value creation rather than technology cost containment.

Computer Weekly Blog Nominations 09

I am delighted that my IT Beacon blog has been shortlisted in two important categories in the Computer Weekly Blog Awards 09. They are:

• CIO / IT Director
• IT Consultant and Analyst.

By all means vote for me if the fancy takes you.  Just visit the blog and you can't miss the next step.

And thank you to those of you have have voted me into the various shortlists.