by Naginder Dhanoa – CIO – UNHCR (United Nations)
The role of the CIO Is fast changing and I often wonder whether today’s CIO is catching up or ahead of the technology advancements. The typical factors affecting the CIO are; mobile technology, intelligent customer and the shrinking space or shall I say the fusion between media and technology too.
The one good thing that has certainly happened in the last decade is the role of the CIO is now well recognised and positioned at Board levels where it is recognised that “IT is Business and Business is IT “.
It was and still is often seen as a support role but that support is so strong and vital that without that no other function can deliver effectively and efficiently. IT is not just a Board Room seat but it is also a pivotal role between all other typical functions in an organisation , be it the traditional Sales, Marketing, Finance, HR and Production, or the more modern divisions such as Business relationship, Strategy, Operations , IT plays a very big part, by providing the hardware, software and the Apps. Also when I refer to fusion between media and technology it is very evident that today’s generation will use a tablet to read a paper, listen to music, watch a TV program, fully utilise social collaboration tools such as facebook, twitter, etc.
Perhaps we can divide the IT industry into these three areas of those who manufacture hardware, those who make the platforms on which software will run and finally those who will write the software for applications.. I wonder how far that is from reality but things are converging rapidly.
Some other areas that are rapidly capturing my interest even though these are not new areas to me , but those where I am pretty seasoned and have had a lot of experience. This is the area of Organisational Change Programs. Every time I have embarked on an Organisational Change program it brings its own challenges. Of course as we know no two programs will ever be the same, they heavily depend on organisational culture, industry , sector, maturity of IT in the organisation, respect for IT in the organisation and of course the list is not complete nor is it exhaustive but certainly will not be complete if current skills to new skills is not mentioned. For me I always look at he Organisational Change program as the transition from “as-is” to “to-be”. Often the transition is not only of roles but also of technologies and if that wasn’t enough we also have to make changes due to legislation in the particular industry. I must say by now I have done 5-6 major Organisational Change programs of very large scale on global sphere and many others on smaller scale too. Each program brings it’s own surprises. The two that one can’t easily ignore are those of culture and then rules, regulations, policies and procedures of the HR Department. Of course if you can comprehend these along with the other staff bodies like unions, ombudsman, staff welfare, staff council you may survive it all. I must admit I always find it fascinating and never a dull moment in this activity.
Another area that keeps me on my toes is the ever challenging nature of locations where we have to deliver IT. Often these are very ancient , antique buildings where cabling systems were laid well at the turn of the century, or during the world war era . Then you may suddenly face reasonably modern building but the rules of the landlord or local authority need to be overcome. You continue your journey and reach countries where you are at the mercy of local PTTs and then the ISPs and of course not forgetting local language and culture to be over come too, along with standards and policies. This could be as close as in Europeor far flung places in Africa, Mongolia, Tibet, Mianmar or Cuba. Every location teaches me something new, and fascination always is in IT staff and readily available skills where you least expect them and vice versa. Once you overcome some of the easier barriers you then start the Quality Assurance of hardware and software. I must admit it has given me surprises in all corners of the world. Where I expect least in standards I get all I would dream of, and where I expect high standards there are disappointments at every step, from lead times, to quality of goods, missing parts, assembly going wrong and is often a total recipe for disaster. This is where I have been very often brought on board as the trouble shooter who will smooth the way and sharpen the technology tools and the skills required. Magic, eh !!.
Last but not least I must mention the IT Strategy workshops that produce well bound glossy books (paperback or hard bound) , good on the shelf , good for suppliers, good for your peers of other divisions to show one really knows the strategy and direction of IT in tis organisation. The number of times this document brings disappointment is when it is completely out of date, or you are reading something which is telling you all things achieved in the past . It is backward looking document and not forward looking 3 to 5 year strategy, visionary document. When I am with the CEOs or CFOs of organisations I often challenge if the documents for their respective offices are upto date but are also being well followed through. There is often a deep silence, and then the answer starts off with hm, er, er,so you have guessed they are in no better shape than the CIOs are. Often nice to feel part of a club and have mutual trust and respect on this topic. Seriously it is a struggle and even having a full time person on this task is thankless. It often reminds me of the other role that we all struggle to keep up with , which is Risk Management, Audit Reports and actions and closely following behind these is Business Continuity. I have endless debates that BC does not belong to IT , only the ITSCM belongs to IT. Very often the CEO thinks firmly the CIO owns the BCP and DR plans for the organisation. I wonder if the CIOs can take on any other roles that have any technology element in it !.
Well we will continue on this exploratory journey in the next blog and let me discover some more nuggets that I can discuss with you. I must admit there are plenty of nuggets but very often , just as anyone else, I run out of time and have to give priority to all other items which all somehow end up at the same priority which is surprisingly number ONE.
See you at the CIO Event!
Till next time…….signing off……Naginder Dhanoa…..CIO .. UNHCR (United Nations)
