How to Tap IT's Hidden Potential

In the recent Wall Street Journal article How to Tap IT's Hidden Potential, Dr. Amit Basu and Mr. Chip Jarnagin write that:

"...Analysts estimate that hundreds of billions of dollars are blown every year on IT projects that fail to achieve the desired goals.

The reason for all this is the metaphorical glass wall that separates the IT group from the rest of the business at most companies. The wall prevents IT from being part of the discussion at the highest levels of company planning, robbing a firm of its full potential.

Success in the digital economy of the 21st century demands a strategic role for IT. And for that to happen, the glass wall between IT and the rest of a company has to be shattered..."

The authors have hit the nail on the head in respect of how most companies are not yielding full value from their IT investment and the issues that lead to that.

The IT function exists to deliver business value and as such needs to be managed by the business. My view is that IT is too important to be abdicated to the IT function so must be managed by the board. It would be a step in the right direction for the CIO to be invited onto the board.

They have highlighted why that doesn't happen. In my view that is not enough. Each senior executive needs not just to be IT-aware, but to be sufficiently IT savvy to drive the IT function to deliver both cost savings and business innovation.

The IT Value Stack addresses this issue and the solution in detail. One of the underlying assertions of my book is that ultimately the CEO and CIO should be one and the same person. That is not going to happen overnight, but given the future is IT- centric, it is only a matter of time.

(Some others blogging about this article include John Millinax, CIO-Weblog, Did Somebody Say Strategy, The Data Doghouse, Executive Advisory blog, Agile & Business, Collaboration and Content Strategies,  Useful Idiot and The Mad Admin.)

Comments

[Joe Little]

Hi,

To your comment that ultimately the CEO and the CIO must be the same...

I agree with the sentiment, which I would put this way: The business folks need to recognize that IT is core to their business and understand it better, and similarly, the IT folks need to recognize that IT only serves the business. So the two (or really multiple) areas need to merge more; especially in their thinking and acting.

Is it ok if some people are somewhat specialist? Probably, but the collaboration across specialties and with the general business is essential.

Thanks, Joe