IT chiefs ring the changes

As computing becomes commoditised, IT leaders should champion transformation, says Colin Ashurst

Written by Colin Ashurst

Information technology is becoming a commodity. Vendors increasingly design computing systems as utilities, to be supplied in a similar way to electricity or water, so they are always available and can quickly be adjusted to meet changing needs.

Developments such as the provision of key applications as services over the internet and the continued interest in outsourcing support the trend. So, if Nick Carr of Harvard Business Review is right and now ‘IT doesn’t matter’, why do we need to continue to pay for expensive in-house IT staff?

We do not have in-house electricity staff. Has the IT function become a legacy of the past we no longer need? Should we get rid of these legacy people as well as the legacy systems they support? Perhaps we should just buy in the services we need.

At first glance it seems an attractive argument. We need to focus on the core business – and surely we can get an IT service more cost-effectively from a supplier who has deep technical skills and the benefits of scale. To an extent this has been happening for a long time. The outsourcing of a wide range of IT services is a long-established and continuing trend. And such services can sound the death knell for technology specialists in certain departments.

Better working practices

But those who say that IT should be treated as a commodity assume the purpose of the IT function is simply to provide a secure, reliable and cost-effective technology infrastructure. They believe that the value to the organisation comes from the technology itself. This is wrong. The value comes from how the technology enables people to do things differently – see Benefits Management by Ward and Daniel. This small change in perspective has huge implications.

The challenge for many businesses is to enable people to do things differently and to realise value from information and technology by changing working practices and processes. This involves people throughout the organisation, and increasingly also customers and other stakeholders across the value chain. This is the challenge of business transformation.

Business transformation is very different from simply providing an IT service: it is an organisation-wide issue and needs to be owned by the chief executive (CEO) and the top management team. It needs effective leadership – including a forward-looking chief information officer (CIO).

It is also strategic. Business transformation shifts the focus to creating value in the future. The need for transformation and change is not going to go away, and many organisations will want to seek help and advice on implementation. But change and transformation cannot be outsourced or handed over to a service provider.

So what are the implications of shifting the focus to business transformation for the role of the CIO and the IT function?

For some IT departments it is too late. Rightly or wrongly they are seen as legacy people. New transformation functions will be established to focus on change and value realisation. The IT function will focus on technology provision and will continue to be at risk of outsourcing.

For other IT departments there is a huge opportunity. The business-facing elements of IT can evolve to take on the transformation role, while the technical elements of the function will be developed or outsourced according to the context of the organisation and the characteristics of the specific services they provide.

A crucial part of the transformation role will be for the IT function to engage with the wider organisation, provide leadership and develop the capability of the organisation as a whole to succeed with change. The IT function is not about implementing all the change on behalf of the organisation.

  • Have your say
  • Send to a friend
  • Print this
  • Share

Tags:

reader comments

related articles

 

Poor skills planning may cost the UK dearly

Future IT leaders will be ill-equipped to deal with a non-traditional workforce, says recent study 29 Sep 2009

HM Revenue & Customs seeks supplier for £500m deal

Framework agreement to cover hardware, software, networks, IT services and green purchasing 02 Sep 2009

Rackspace launches No More Servers promotion

Campaign talks up computing-as-a-service model 07 Oct 2009

related whitepapers

today's top stories

Telepresence: coming to a screen near you?

Telepresence systems enable organisations to hold boardroom-style meetings with far-flung participants without the hassle and expense of arranging travel and accommodation. But while the technology is impressive, it does not come cheap, as Martin Courtney discovered when he sat in on a virtual meeting with executives from Philips 10 Mar 2010

Users give their verdict on Azure

Some of the first wave of UK adopters met in London recently to air their views on Microsoft’s cloud computing platform. Dave Bailey listened in 10 Mar 2010

Protests greet new Digital Economy Bill amendment

ISPs, digital rights groups and Liberal Democrat supporters cry foul 05 Mar 2010

Publishing special - Publishers innovate to survive

1) IT could hold the key to the future of publishing 2) Case Study: The Guardian harnesses social and mobile apps 3) How publishers are reacting to the iPad 02 Mar 2010

IT Leaders' Forum in association with IBM

A unique opportunity to hear from expert speakers and engage in a debate about the future of the CIO job function 29 Jan 2010

Advertisement

Keys to successful Service‐Oriented Architecture implementation

This white paper explores best practices and general design patterns for service oriented architecture (SOA).

The Roadmap to IT Maturity — Matching Strategy to Infrastructure for Business Success

This paper defines a roadmap for matching infrastructure strategy to business success.

Advertisement

Keep up to date with the latest products, services and technologies from the world's leading IT companies; ITHound.com brings you over 6,000 white papers, case studies and analyst reports.

Advertisement

Newsletter signup

Sign up for our range of FREE newsletters:

More available - click 'submit' to view

Existing User

Newsletter user login:

Jobs

Related jobs

Job of the week

Job alerts

Sign up here

Find your next job

IT Salary Checker

Check salary here

Advertisement

Latest poll

NHS centralised data

NHS centralised data

Do you think the NHS can be trusted to safely look after personal data electronically?

View poll results

Latest audio and video articles

Video

HP unveils S Series notebooks

'Prosumer' line overhauled 01 Mar 2010

Web Seminar Listings

Preparing for enterprise-scale Windows 7 migration

The web seminar on 18 Feb will discuss how Windows 7 migration can increase IT efficiency in large enterprises, freeing up budgetary and personnel resources to focus on business innovation. Our panel of experts will examine the strategies, tools and services IT leaders can use to migrate successfully and reap the rewards of increased efficiency. 19 Feb 2010

Latest in-depth articles

Martin CaveComment

Lessons to be learned from cricket's internet outing

Imagine the scene. It’s the final of one of the most popular sporting events in the Indian subcontinent and millions of people are glued to their laptops and PCs in anticipation of the four runs required off the last ball of the match. Suddenly the connection jitters and 20 seconds later you see the jubilant crowd flooding onto the field of play… 12 Mar 2010

Wayne GibbonsComment

Social networks are key to cracking China

Business social media can unlock the door to the world’s second-largest economy 10 Mar 2010

Primary Navigation