Brian P. Watson

Should CIOs report to CEOs or CFOs? Conventional wisdom says it depends on a company’s strategy. Rajiv Banker, professor of accounting and IT at Temple University’s Fox School of Business, says that conventional reporting models don’t always produce the expected results. He spoke recently with online editor Brian P. Watson about his research into the […]

IT Executive CIOs, Meet Your New Boss, CIO Insight More and more IT chiefs are reporting to CFOs. Does that spell the demise of the strategic CIO? Not necessarily, but it certainly points to a dramatic change in his or her role within the company. Senior writer Ed Cone writes: “The increasing prominence of the […]

It all started with a grumble from Bill Gates. In early December, Microsoft’s chairman called out journalists for their scant coverage of business computing, as opposed to their ubiquitous scribblings about the latest consumer products. The enterprise market is "way bigger," Gates griped, so why does it get such little coverage? Gates’ complaint set off […]

As consulting firm Janco Associates calculated its annual study of IT executive compensation, it discovered that 22 CIOs earn $2 million a year or more, including Alltel CIO and group president Jeff Fox , who’s total compensation tops $9 million. Most other CIOs aren’t so fortunate. True, pay for CIOs at large firms rose from […]

BOOKS Fall Reading for IT Managers The fall’s must-reads include books on management, strategy and practical expertise. Editors’ Picks: The Best Books of 2007 Our editors picked the most thought-provoking books of the year. Five Insightful Management Books A collection of works that can help CIOs manage more effectively and avoid common mistakes. CAREERS 6 […]

CIOs like to say IT has gone from commoditized utility to strategic function within their organizations, but too many of them don’t walk the walk. So says Patrick Gray, founder and president of Prevoyance Group, a strategic consulting firm, and author of Breakthrough IT: Supercharging Organizational Value Through Technology (Wiley, November 2007). Gray spoke recently […]

Five IT specialties are among the 25 fastest-growing jobs anticipated by 2016, according to a new forecast from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. Positions in network systems and data communications analysis will increase 53 percent between 2006 and 2016, the highest rate of growth of any occupation. Computer software application engineers […]

IT hiring will rise by 13 percent in the first three months of 2008, a slight decrease from the same period a year ago, according the newly-released Robert Half Technology Hiring Index and Skills Report. Three percent of CIOs surveyed by the IT staffing firm expect to shed IT staff in the coming. The net […]

IT plays a major role in a company’s strategic success, but CIOs are rarely involved in plotting that strategy. That’s the takeaway of a new survey that finds a disconnect between what executives say about IT and what happens at the planning table. Eight in 10 executives say IT is strategic to their business, and […]

Venture capital firms pumped $2.6 billion into green IT in the first nine months of 2007, topping their total investment in the area last year. In the wake of Al Gore’s Nobel Prize-winning crusade on global warming and oil prices reaching all-time highs, the investments give more credibility to the financial viability of using eco-friendly […]

Americans believe digital medical records can greatly reduce treatment errors, and their worries about privacy are waning, according to a new survey. A significant majority of respondents to a just-released poll by The Wall Street Journal and Harris Interactive said electronic records will cut the chance for mistakes or redundancy in testing and treatment. Privacy […]

Web applications may be all the craze in the today’s technology world, but they might be a company’s worst enemy, a new report reveals. Improperly protected Web-based programs, along with workers who fall prey to attacks like phishing, pose new threats to corporate IT security, according to an annual report by the security training organization […]