For
years CIOs (or should I say, IT managers) were chastised for being too
reactive, too technical, too tactical. In an effort to address this
“shortcoming,” CEOs and their consultants schooled IT managers on how to think
strategically. And what fine students you have become.
During
the last few years (which we all know have been very tough on IT budgets) IT
leaders the world over have put in place a number of strategies to maximize
efficiencies, drive cost savings and generally improve the speed and
responsiveness of IT.
Unfortunately,
the highly lauded strategies of yesterday have had some very negative
consequences for CIOs and their teams. Consequences that are so significant
that, if we don’t do something about them soon, will relegate the CIO (and the
IT group overall) to a position of vastly diminished relevance to the business.
I’ll explain.
Strategic IT management: Unexpected side effects
In
the quest for ever-improving efficiency and customer responsiveness, CIOs the
world over have applied three basic strategic themes.
-
Standardize
around key packages: Avoid custom
applications like the plague. Go for standardized software. And what’s more, if
it can be SAP or Oracle, even better. Build a focus and competency in a
specific application suite and work it. -
Outsource,
outsource, outsource: Wherever
possible, outsource to a third party. ASP, MSP, BPO, consultants, bodyshop.
Whatever could be found that offered a cost and speed advantage to doing it in
house. -
Get “tight”
with the business side: In order
to get closer to the business side of the operation, improve understanding,
shorten implementation time frames and increase accountability, CIOs made a number of organizational changes.
Chief among them: creating the IT-business liaison role.
These are all basically sound
strategies driven by good intentions. But the way in which these strategies
have been implemented has brought about one particularly disastrous consequence:
The virtual disappearance of the business analyst (BA).
