Notes from the Consultant’s Jungle

Posted by:  Bob Landstrom

The latest issue of CIO Insight has results from their annuals survey of top ten priorities of CIOs.  The online presentation can be found here.  Looking over this year’s top ten list left me with a few notable observations.

First let’s have a look at the list.  The following is the top ten list for 2010 from CIO Insight:

• 1. Business productivity and cost reduction
• 2. IT/Business alignment
• 3. Agility and speed to market
• 4. Business process re-engineering
• 5. IT cost reduction
• 6. IT reliability and efficiency
• 7. IT strategic planning
• 8. Revenue-generating IT innovations
• 9. Security and privacy
• 10. CIO leadership role

Before striking any comment on the order of this list, it’s important to point out that this is a compilation of responses from the surveyed CIOs, and the priority rankings is not necessarily applicable to every CIO that contributed.  There are some interesting observations though.

First of all, it’s heartening to see IT/Business Alignment, Agility and Speed to Market, and IT Strategic Planning all in the top ten.  To notice any of these three being absent would be very concerning.  These are, I would argue, defining directives of the CIO role in any organization.  The ranking of IT Strategic Planning as far down as seventh on the list is, I believe, a change from prior years’ surveys.  It’s probably safe to assume this drop in focus on strategic planning is the result of many firms taking a tactical, survivalist, mentality in the current economic climate.

A similar motivation is probably the cause for Business Productivity, Cost Reduction, and Reliability and Efficiency being in the top ten.  The high rankings for each of these is, I think, a reflection that in the current economic climate, CIOs are investing majority of focus on issues of bang-for-the-buck.

One topic on the list that is concerning because of its low ranking is that of Security and Privacy.  This is clearly a top-of-mind issue within and without mahogany row, as well as for Customers.  The placement of this issue as ninth of the list suggests that this very critical issue is possibly suffering because of the attention given to issues more directly related to expense and revenue.

It’s very interesting to see the idea of revenue generation of IT innovations making the top ten list.  Could this be a “fight-back” play on the economic front from IT organizations?

We’d be remiss not to notice the inclusion of the CIO’s role in the organization on the top ten list.  This is reflective of the issue of where does the CIO’s influence stand in the grand scheme of the organization.  While this has been somewhat of a recurrent theme in CIO roundtables recently, it may also be drawing even more mindshare given the economic pressures facing organizations this year.

As always, your comments and contributions to this discussion are invited.