This paper will discuss the most effective CIO’s strategy for strategic IT planning. This paper will also address the expectations of a successful CIO. The chief information officer (CIO), or information technology (IT) director, is a job title commonly given to the most senior executive in an enterprise responsible for the information technology and computer systems that support enterprise goals. The CIO typically reports to the chief executive officer, chief operations officer or chief financial officer.In military organizations, they report to the commanding officer.
The Clinger-Cohen Act of 1996 created the Chief Information Officer position and assigns to the CIO these responsibilities: 1. Provide advice and assistance to senior managers on IT acquisition and management; 2. Develop, maintain, and facilitate implementation of a sound and integrated IT architecture; 3. Promote effective and efficient design and operation of all major IRM processes for the agency, including improvements to work processes.Information technology and its systems have become so important that the CIO has come to be viewed in many organizations as the key contributor in formulating strategic goals for an organization.
The CIO manages the implementation of the useful technology to increase information accessibility and integrated systems management. As a comparison, where the CIO adapts systems through the use of existing technologies, chief technology officer develops new technologies to expand corporate technological capabilities.When both positions are present in an organization, the CIO ITM580: Strategic Planning for IT 3 is generally responsible for processes and practices supporting the flow of information, whereas the CTO is generally responsible for technology infrastructure. The prominence of the CIO position has risen greatly as information technology has become a more important part of business. The CIO may be a member of the executive board of of an organization.
No specific qualification are intrinsic of the CIO position, though the typical candidate may have expertise in a number of technological fields - computer science, software engineering, or information systems. Many candidates have Master of Business Administration or Master of Science in Management degrees. More recently CIOs' leadership capabilities, business acumen and strategic perspectives have taken precedence over technical skills. It is now quite common for CIOs to be appointed from the business side of the organization, especially if they have project management skills.
In 2007 a survey amongst CIOs by CIO magazine in the UK discovered that their top 10 concerns were: people leadership, managing budgets, business alignment, infrastructure refresh, security, compliance, resource management, managing customers, managing change and board politics. Typically, a CIO is involved with analyzing and reworking existing business processes, with identifying and developing the capability to use new tools, with reshaping the enterprise's physical infrastructure and network access, and with identifying and exploiting the enterprise's knowledge resources.Many CIOs head the enterprise's efforts to integrate the Internet into both its long-term strategy and its ITM580: Strategic Planning for IT 4 immediate business plans. The CIO is evolving into a role where he/she is creating and monitoring business value from IT assets, to the point where Potts in FruITion (novel) suggests that the Chief Information Officer (CIO) be replaced with Chief Internal Investments Officer (CIIO). Another way that the CIO role is changing is an increased focus on service management.
As SaaS, IaaS, BPO and other more flexible value delivery techniques are brought into organizations the CIO usually functions as a 3rd party manager for the organization. Linking a tactical IT culture rooted in reaction and response to broader strategic goals is a worthy, if difficult, challenge, which requires understanding the areas of intersection between IT and the business. Despite the obstacles, IT must cross this bridge without disrupting its own operational ability to deliver projects on-time and within budget while still achieving planned scope. To be sure, this balancing act requires careful and delicate choreography.
