CIOs Start To Become More Important

The importance of a CIO can be measured in a number of different ways. One such way is how often the CEO seeks out the CIO for consultation. In the not so distant past, this is something that would happen rarely. Generally, this would only happen if something had gone wrong such as a service … Read more

What To Do When The CIO Works For The CFO

The good folks over at Gartner and the Financial Executives Research Foundation have just completed another one of those big studies. What they found is that in companies that have less than $50M in revenue, 47% of their CIOs report to the company’s CFO. In firms that have $1B or more in revenue, 46% of … Read more

How CIOs Can Boost Their IT Budgets Even In Hard Time

It can be quite expensive for a CIO to run an IT department. There are a lot of different costs that all seem to contribute to the definition of information technology: server, networks, applications, developers, system administrators, etc. These costs don’t seem to be deceasing and in fact, only seem to be going up. What … Read more

CIO vs. CFO: Can’t We All Just Get Along?

I’ve got some bad news for you. CIOs are unhappy. It turns out that a lot of CIOs are now reporting into the company’s CFO instead of its CEO. This means that the CFO is in charge and the CIO feels that he or she is not. Things can’t go on this way. What can … Read more

Successful CIOs Know What The CFO Really Wants

In the classic Hollywood movie “All The President’s Men”, the heroes who are trying to unravel the web of corruption are told that they will be able to put the pieces together if they “… follow the money…”. It turns out that even though today’s CIOs are not trying to solve a crime, if they … Read more

What CIOs Need To Do In Order To Get Some Respect

When you become CIO things are going to be different aren’t they? You’ll be one of those CIOs that has the respect of both their peers in the company and in their industry, right? Lisa Yoon over at CIOZone.com just got done interviewing me for an article that she was writing titled “CIOs and the … Read more

Who Should A CIO’s BFF Be: The CEO or The CFO?

The times they are changing. Let’s take a moment and have a talk about one of a CIO’s key survival skills: the ability to successfully negotiate office politics. Specifically, if you could only have one best friend, who should it be: the CEO or the CFO? Changes In The Workplace The workplace that a CIO … Read more

Protecting Company Data Is How CIOs Can Make Friends With CFOs

Data Security. There I said it. It sorta lays there like a big lump of coal and everyone in the company stands around looking at it wondering who’s responsibility it is to do something about it. Nobody, including CIOs really wants to touch it for one very simple reason: it’s a losing proposition. How To … Read more

What Should A CIO’s Top 10 Concerns Be Right Now?

Let’s take a quick snapshot of the business world as it stands right now: uncertainties (and hope) about a new president coming in, financial markets don’t seem to be responding to stimulus programs, gas is down to $2.00 / gallon but for how long, and Paris Hilton hasn’t been hear from for most of the … Read more