Chief information officer
Encyclopedia
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 title of Chief Information Officer in Higher Education
may be the highest ranking technology executive although depending on the institution, alternative titles are used to represent this position. Generally, the CIO reports to the chief executive officer
, chief operations officer or chief financial officer
. In military organizations, they report to the commanding officer
.
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 is generally responsible for processes and practices supporting the flow of information, whereas the CTO is generally responsible for technology infrastructure.
CIO magazine's "State of the CIO 2008" survey asked 558 IT leaders who they report to. The results were: CEO
(41%), CFO
(23%), COO
(16%), Corporate CIO (7%) and Other (13%).
that drives it, has become an increasingly important part of the modern organization. The CIO may be a member of the executive committee of an organization, and/or may often be required to engage at board level depending on the nature of the organization and its operating structure and governance environment. 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.
In 2010, Gartner
Executive Programs conducted a global CIO survey and received responses from 2,014 CIOs from 50 countries and 38 industries. Gartner reported that the survey results indicated that the top ten technology priorities for CIOs for 2011 were cloud computing
, virtualization
, mobile technologies, IT management, business intelligence
, networking
, voice and data communications, enterprise applications, collaboration technologies, infrastructure
, and Web 2.0
.
Typically, a CIO is involved with driving the analysis and re-engineering of existing business processes, identifying and developing the capability to use new tools, 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 immediate business plans. CIO's are often tasked with either driving or heading up crucial IT projects which are essential to the strategic and operational objectives of an organisation. A good example of this would be the implementation of an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system which typically has wide-ranging implications for most organizations. The CIO is evolving into a role where he/she is creating and monitoring business value from IT assets, to the point where corporate strategist Chris Potts suggests in the novel FruITion
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. In essence, a CIO in the modern organization is required to possess business skills and the ability to relate to the organization as a whole, as opposed to being a technological expert with limited functional business expertise. The CIO position is as much about anticipating trends in the market place with regards to technology as it is about ensuring that the business navigates these trends through expert guidance and proper strategic IT planning that is aligned to the corporate strategy of the organization.
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
and computer systems that support enterprise goals. The title of Chief Information Officer in Higher Education
Chief Information Officer in Higher Education
A chief information officer in higher education is the chief information officer or CIO position in higher education represents the highest-ranking information technology administrator/officer in higher education institutions. However, the title of the highest-ranking technology position may not...
may be the highest ranking technology executive although depending on the institution, alternative titles are used to represent this position. Generally, the CIO reports to the chief executive officer
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
, chief operations officer or chief financial officer
Chief financial officer
The chief financial officer or Chief financial and operating officer is a corporate officer primarily responsible for managing the financial risks of the corporation. This officer is also responsible for financial planning and record-keeping, as well as financial reporting to higher management...
. In military organizations, they report to the commanding officer
Commanding officer
The commanding officer is the officer in command of a military unit. Typically, the commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitude to run the unit as he sees fit, within the bounds of military law...
.
CIO
Information technologyInformation technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
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 is generally responsible for processes and practices supporting the flow of information, whereas the CTO is generally responsible for technology infrastructure.
CIO magazine's "State of the CIO 2008" survey asked 558 IT leaders who they report to. The results were: CEO
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
(41%), CFO
Chief financial officer
The chief financial officer or Chief financial and operating officer is a corporate officer primarily responsible for managing the financial risks of the corporation. This officer is also responsible for financial planning and record-keeping, as well as financial reporting to higher management...
(23%), COO
Chief operating officer
A Chief Operating Officer or Director of Operations can be one of the highest-ranking executives in an organization and comprises part of the "C-Suite"...
(16%), Corporate CIO (7%) and Other (13%).
Information technology
The prominence of the CIO position has risen greatly as information, and the information technologyInformation technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
that drives it, has become an increasingly important part of the modern organization. The CIO may be a member of the executive committee of an organization, and/or may often be required to engage at board level depending on the nature of the organization and its operating structure and governance environment. No specific qualification are intrinsic of the CIO position, though the typical candidate may have expertise in a number of technological fields - computer science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
, software engineering
Software engineering
Software Engineering is the application of a systematic, disciplined, quantifiable approach to the development, operation, and maintenance of software, and the study of these approaches; that is, the application of engineering to software...
, or information systems
Information systems
Information Systems is an academic/professional discipline bridging the business field and the well-defined computer science field that is evolving toward a new scientific area of study...
. Many candidates have Master of Business Administration
Master of Business Administration
The Master of Business Administration is a :master's degree in business administration, which attracts people from a wide range of academic disciplines. The MBA designation originated in the United States, emerging from the late 19th century as the country industrialized and companies sought out...
or Master of Science in Management
Master of Science in Management
Master of Science in Management, abbreviated MSc or MSM, is a Master of Science academic degree that is common throughout the United States and Europe. It is similar to the MBA degree, and often requires a dissertation before a graduate is admitted to it. The MSc is a research-oriented program...
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
Project management
Project management is the discipline of planning, organizing, securing, and managing resources to achieve specific goals. A project is a temporary endeavor with a defined beginning and end , undertaken to meet unique goals and objectives, typically to bring about beneficial change or added value...
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
Compliance (regulation)
In general, compliance means conforming to a rule, such as a specification, policy, standard or law. Regulatory compliance describes the goal that corporations or public agencies aspire to in their efforts to ensure that personnel are aware of and take steps to comply with relevant laws and...
, resource management
Resource management
In organizational studies, resource management is the efficient and effective deployment of an organization's resources when they are needed. Such resources may include financial resources, inventory, human skills, production resources, or information technology...
, managing customers, managing change and board politics.
In 2010, Gartner
Gartner
Gartner, Inc. is an information technology research and advisory firm headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, United States. It was known as GartnerGroup until 2001....
Executive Programs conducted a global CIO survey and received responses from 2,014 CIOs from 50 countries and 38 industries. Gartner reported that the survey results indicated that the top ten technology priorities for CIOs for 2011 were cloud computing
Cloud computing
Cloud computing is the delivery of computing as a service rather than a product, whereby shared resources, software, and information are provided to computers and other devices as a utility over a network ....
, virtualization
Virtualization
Virtualization, in computing, is the creation of a virtual version of something, such as a hardware platform, operating system, a storage device or network resources....
, mobile technologies, IT management, business intelligence
Business intelligence
Business intelligence mainly refers to computer-based techniques used in identifying, extracting, and analyzing business data, such as sales revenue by products and/or departments, or by associated costs and incomes....
, networking
Computer network
A computer network, often simply referred to as a network, is a collection of hardware components and computers interconnected by communication channels that allow sharing of resources and information....
, voice and data communications, enterprise applications, collaboration technologies, infrastructure
Infrastructure
Infrastructure is basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise, or the services and facilities necessary for an economy to function...
, and Web 2.0
Web 2.0
The term Web 2.0 is associated with web applications that facilitate participatory information sharing, interoperability, user-centered design, and collaboration on the World Wide Web...
.
Typically, a CIO is involved with driving the analysis and re-engineering of existing business processes, identifying and developing the capability to use new tools, 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 immediate business plans. CIO's are often tasked with either driving or heading up crucial IT projects which are essential to the strategic and operational objectives of an organisation. A good example of this would be the implementation of an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system which typically has wide-ranging implications for most organizations. The CIO is evolving into a role where he/she is creating and monitoring business value from IT assets, to the point where corporate strategist Chris Potts suggests in the novel FruITion
FruITion (novel)
fruITion is a novel by Chris Potts, a corporate strategist specializing in exploiting Information Technology and investing in change. It was published in the USA in February 2008 by Technics Publications, LLC. It sets out to offer a change from ‘the same old books about IT and strategy’...
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
Saas
SAAS is an abbreviation for* Social Accountability Accreditation Services* Software as a service * Student Awards Agency for Scotland* Seattle Academy of Arts and Sciences* South Australian Ambulance Service...
, IaaS
IAAS
IAAS can refer to the following:*Incorporated Association of Architects and Surveyors, British professional body renamed 1993 as the Association of Building Engineers* Institute of Agriculture and Animal Science, institute of Tribhuvan University, Nepal...
, BPO
Business process outsourcing
Business process outsourcing is a subset of outsourcing that involves the contracting of the operations and responsibilities of specific business functions to a third-party service provider. Originally, this was associated with manufacturing firms, such as Coca Cola that outsourced large segments...
and other more flexible value delivery techniques are brought into organizations the CIO usually functions as a 3rd party manager for the organization. In essence, a CIO in the modern organization is required to possess business skills and the ability to relate to the organization as a whole, as opposed to being a technological expert with limited functional business expertise. The CIO position is as much about anticipating trends in the market place with regards to technology as it is about ensuring that the business navigates these trends through expert guidance and proper strategic IT planning that is aligned to the corporate strategy of the organization.
See also
- Fractional CIOFractional CIOAccording to PC Magazine1, the Chief Information Officer, or CIO, is defined as: the executive officer in charge of information processing in an organization. All systems design, development and datacenter operations fall under CIO jurisdiction. CIOs have demanding jobs as information systems in an...
- Chief Information Officer in Higher EducationChief Information Officer in Higher EducationA chief information officer in higher education is the chief information officer or CIO position in higher education represents the highest-ranking information technology administrator/officer in higher education institutions. However, the title of the highest-ranking technology position may not...
- Chief technology officer
- Geostationary Information Officer
- IT Governance
- IT Strategy
External links
- US Federal CIO Council
- UK Government - CIO Council Dead link as on 4th Nov 2010, unable to find new official site.
- The Chief Information Officer Concept in E-government: Lessons for Developing Countries. By D.C. Misra. On United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs WebBoard.