Eric Chabrow

The No. 1 concern of CIOs since 1994 has been IT-business alignment. No more. Edging out alignment as the top concern among CIOs is attracting, developing and retaining business-technology professionals, according to the 2007 membership survey by the Society for Information Management. Don’t be surprised if finding and keeping IT pros remains atop the SIM […]

When it comes to the efficient flow of business, many IT organizations are seen as part of the problem instead of part of the solution. None other than Gary Hamel, arguably the world’s preeminent authority of management strategy, cautions against turning to the IT department for help on some initiatives: “When you want to run […]

There’s a reason why that wait from the help desk takes awhile. There are just fewer computer support professionals in the United States. A CIO Insight analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics employment data shows that the number of computer support specialists has declined nearly 12 percent since the beginning of the decade. That […]

The IT profession doesn’t look like America, and that costs us dearly. In “How Diverse Is IT“, CIO Insight analyzed data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showing that African-Americans and Hispanics are underrepresented in IT compared with their presence in other professions. Blacks embody 6.5 percent of employed IT managers and staff professionals […]

Books ranging from How to Read a Book to The Prince are among 30 books every CIO wannabe should read, according to an annual list of must-read books issued by the Society of Information Management’s Regional Leadership Forum. Why no IT books? The books are aimed at IT professionals with aspirations to move into senior […]

The IT shop is a bit more racially diverse today than it was at the beginning of the decade, though that diversity does not mirror the overall workforce in the United States. A CIO Insight analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data–the same numbers the government uses to determine the monthly unemployment rate–shows that […]

You think WiFi was revolutionary, picture technological advances that WiTricity will bring. WiTricity? Yes, transmitting electricity wirelessly. In an experiment revealed this week, a team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s departments of Physics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and the Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies lit a 60-watt light bulb from a power source seven […]

A number of CIOs are exploring a relatively untapped source for fresh IT talent, even if the prospects can’t tell a bit from a byte: liberal arts graduates. Eight in ten IT organizations recruit at undergraduate business and IT programs, but only 14 percent scout liberal arts graduates, according to our latest recruiting, retention and […]

Employment growth among America’s IT producers—the companies that manufacture computer hardware, create software and provide a wide-range of information services—failed to keep pace with payrolls from all nonfarm industries over the past five years, according to a CIO Insight analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data. While overall nonfarm payrolls advanced by nearly 5.8 […]

The vast majority of CIOs express optimism about economic growth, but that doesn’t necessarily translate into more spending on technology this year. A first-quarter 2007 survey of 100 U.S. CIOs by Citigroup Investment Research reveals that 83 percent of the business technologists see the economic recovery continuing in 2007. Still, nearly half say their IT […]

Are CIOs doing a great job not overworking their subordinates, or are government numbers merely camouflaging the truth? The typical full-time computer professional last year averaged 42 hours, 24 minutes per week on the job—at the office, on the road and at home, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. When I recently posted […]

Chubb Corp. CEO John D. Finnegan didn’t need a report such as the one from the Society for Information Management to realize the $14 billion insurer should be grooming its next top tech leader from within its own ranks. Two years ago, when the post of global CIO became vacant, none of Chubb’s internal prospects […]