Patrick Flynn: Clear IT Leadership

Customer Service and the Strategic CIO plus a tip of the hat to @ComcastMelissa

2010-12-11T13:40:00.001-08:00

Moving is a real pain in the neck. We've done it enough over the years to become fairly expert at it. The prep work before, the packing and craigslisting, tidying up the loose ends including utilities transfers- it's a lot of work.

Saturday my wife reminded me that we needed to return the cable TV converter box to Comcast. No problem, it's always been pretty easy to drop off a box as there have always been a number of places on the Eastside (of Seattle) to do so. So I quickly log on to Comcast's website to get the closest address only to find that they've revamped things and the closest dropoff location is in Auburn WA, an optimistic 30+ minutes away by car. Did I mention that moving is a pain? So this frustrated me to say the least and I vented a wee bit on Twitter about it.

That's where it got interesting. Within 10 minutes of my tweet, @ComcastMelissa had replied with info I hadn't found on their website that solved my problem and frankly left me feeling lots better about Comcast and less frustrated. Win for me, Win for Comcast.

It got me thinking however- I'm a bit unusual for my generation in that I use Twitter all the time. I'm a geek having worked in Technology since the 80's. I'm more Digital Native than Digital Immigrant (also see Don Tapscott's "Grown Up Digital" for a really interesting work on the Net Generation). But what about "most people"? How would they have found the information? It wasn't readily apparent on Comcast's website on the Service Locations page.

@ComcastMelissa's response to me saved the day but why isn't the reference to her, and what I assume are her Social Media Customer Service colleagues - what does one call these folks?, linked clearly and directly on the website where it's needed???

My guess is that the Social Media team reports somewhere other than to the CIO/CTO. It clearly isn't integrated with the website UX team and more importantly whoever's responsible for the total customer experience. Without throwing stones at Comcast's CIO and CMO, someone in that organization should clearly be viewing and reviewing the big picture to make sure that from the customer's perspective it's all seamless. This is the kind of stuff that moves the CIO from engine room operator to strategic thinker in the view of the CEO and Board. It's the brand reinforcement that all CMO's work to achieve.

It was also an instructive lesson for me as the COO for Kidelicious, the startup I'm a co-founder of and working on building to launch. We all tend to get a bit siloed focusing on the UX for the e-commerce platform or the social media experience but who's stepping back and making sure it all works to serve the customer and reinforce the brand? Get it right and you delight your customers or at least lower their frustration level. Get it wrong and you undo a lot of careful work.

Action items especially for CIO/CTO folks who still struggle with getting that coveted "seat at the table".

Go home and play customer. What's the response time like for your website? Does it behave the same on every major browser (and if you aren't using a Mac, find one and check at least Safari)?
Call your customer service numbers and see how long it takes to talk with someone who can actually do something.
Tweet something and see if anyone "hears" it and responds.
Then figure out how to make it better.

Stop thinking like a CIO

2010-01-30T20:34:00.001-08:00

Maybe I should have better said "Think like a consultant...or Think like your boss". In any case, too often CIO's, myself included, don't do enough to get outside our roles and consider our particular business and business in general from another perspective. It matters not whether you're in a profit-making endeavor or a not-for-profit, it's important to spend time thinking about your enterprise differently if you're going to provide the sort of game-changing leadership needed.

I love to read. Everything from Sports Illustrated to aviation magazines to Runners World to fiction. I try to always have a big stack of books waiting for me. My rule is to alternate fiction with non-fiction; switching from "play" to "work" to stay fresh.

The last quarter of the year I read a series of books by my friend and colleague, Faisal Hoque, founder of BTM Corporation. Faisal's been advocating for a different, structured approach to managing business technology for years. One of the key takeaways was the need to move from striving to align the IT and business strategies (as if they were somehow separate) to fully integrated business technology management. BTM have built the frameworks and applications to help organizations dramatically improve the return on their invested business technology capital. Great stuff and for starters I'd highly recommend his book "Winning the Three-legged Race".

I just recently finished an excellent book which may not be on the typical CIO or CTO reading list but should be. Entitled "The Breakthrough Imperative" by Gottfredson & Schaubert, it's an excellent look at how the consultants at Bain & Company analyze a business to determine opportunities for improving performance. As the business technology leader for your organization, some part of each week should be consumed in doing the same thing. Think like a consultant. As technology leaders, we have an advantage over nearly anyone else in the organization (or the consultants on the outside for that matter)- we are trained to think holistically, in systems and their interconnection. Analyze your business, fold that into your technology investment discussions with your peers in the rest of the business and see what a difference there is in the conversation.

Read any good books lately??

By the way, our website is Clear IT Leadership. I'll be migrating this blog to our new site soon.

Run IT as a business -- why that's a train wreck waiting to happen | Adventures in IT - InfoWorld

2010-01-26T10:41:00.001-08:00

Run IT as a business -- why that's a train wreck waiting to happen | Adventures in IT - InfoWorld: ""

I'll keep it simple by saying first, Amen to the general principle which is that IT doesn't have internal customers. There are NO "internal" customers. All the customers are "out there". I define customers as those from whom we obtain revenue. Everyone else, every function inside the company, is part of meeting the customers' needs. It's why the company exists. But then I've said that before.

Secondly, where I will disagree slightly is that this isn't a train wreck waiting to happen, the crash has already occurred; we're just watching the clean-up now. We see it all the time. The CEO says "IT's become an order-taking organization and we need them to be more strategic." IT matches up with the article's profile including calling the business, "customers". CIO's should forbid the use of the word throughout IT in reference to anyone who doesn't give the company money, i.e. isn't the source of revenue.

Knowing who the company's customers are and working to provide them with the services and products they require is the reason IT and the rest of the business exists. We're all in this together.

2009-12-24T12:33:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas and a Happy, Prosperous New Year to all!

"IT is key to post-recession growth, say CEOs" Time to get that seat at the table?

2009-12-17T08:13:00.001-08:00

IT is key to post-recession growth, say CEOs: ""

Interesting report from Gartner posted on December 14, 2009 in Information Age. Interesting I think for a couple of reasons. First off, it's no surprise that CEO's (and the rest of the C-suite) expect that IT will be key to post-recession business success. This isn't really news nor about the recession. For some years now the vast majority of CEO's have seen business technology as a key lever in growing the business. In fact I wrote about this last year. What is different I think is the comment in the article that CEO's don't want help just growing the top-line but are looking to business technology and the CIO to help with structural changes that can reduce long-term operating costs. This is in reaction to their, correct I think, assertion that consumers will not return to pre-recession spending habits any time soon.

The second interesting item is the comment that CEO's "were basically protecting IT through this recession". That's one way to look at it I suppose. It's certainly different than I've ever thought about it, particularly when I was being asked to cut my budgets. I don't think I buy it though. Yes, IT was likely cut less than, say, Marketing but I suspect it's more due to the largely fixed cost nature of IT budgets for most companies. Therein lies a significant opportunity for CIO's to show that they clearly get the changing nature of business ahead. And yes, it's a chance for those CIO's still pining for a "seat at the table" to show that they deserve it.

In many (most?) companies business technology expenditures are in the top 3 line items. If CEO's are looking for ways to make structural changes in their costs, then isn't it incumbent on savvy CIO's to look at their own budgets as opportunities for change? The largely fixed nature of most business technology budgets not only makes it hard to cut but makes it hard to ramp up investment. IT is often anything but nimble and agile. Instead of just looking at the opportunity to grow your budget as you work with the business going forward, take another fresh look at where you can make structural changes in how you spend.

Think in terms of how you could create a more flexible business technology organization and budget. Just as the supply chain organization is constantly re-evaluating sourcing models and suppliers, the business technology leadership should be doing the same inspection. If you were starting out today, would you structure your budget in the same way? Would you use the same suppliers? Structural change, by its very nature, is hard work but the post-recession world requires we make that change.

It just might give you a better view from a different seat at the table.

2009-09-29T17:27:00.000-07:00

Nope, I haven't abandoned this blog. It may seem like it but actually I've been busy with client work lately. So instead of writing about being a CIO or consulting to a CIO or other C-type, I'm actually working on the doing side of things.

I do have some ideas I've tried to capture along the way and will in fact write about them....just as soon as I slow down!

Who's the customer? Rebuttal to "Whom Do We Serve? « The Effective CIO"

2009-07-21T22:44:00.001-07:00

Anyone who's ever worked with me as CIO or in some of my other IT leadership roles has heard my position on this- many times. "There are no customers inside the company. The customers are "out there"!

Chuck's post is quite thoughtful and has some very useful points to include in your operating style. The point that the customer for IT is the business is mistaken. In fact, one of the things that consistently gets CIO's shown the door is a failure to be focused on the customer, on driving revenue. That doesn't mean you aren't focused as well on suppliers, employees and other stakeholders but it's all in the context of a partnership with the business.

As an aside for those who've asked about the new role I've taken on with BTM Corporation, I am going to be even more focused on working with CxO's, including the CIO, to help take this business/IT partnership to a new level- to move from aligning the business and technology to converging business and technology. We move from "Information Technology" to "Business Technology". That's a topic for another post.

I completely agree with Chuck's point that customers and revenue are not solely the CIO's role and responsibility. Instead the CIO works in tandem with the business to focus every effort squarely on the customer. The failure to do so is a prime reason why CIO's struggle for the mythical "seat at the table". In fact, in many cases a CIO vacancy (i.e. "left to explore other opportunities") is the result of a lack of vision and drive to help create and retain customers.

In my mind, even projects to fix the plumbing are there to better serve customers and should be expressed that way. If you can't define a project in business impact, then you aren't ready to ask for the resources to accomplish it.

Whom Do We Serve? « The Effective CIO: ""

(Via .)

The tipping point: iPhone users turn against AT&T | Wireless News - Betanews

2009-07-21T21:54:00.001-07:00

More to my previous post about AT&T Wireless. It's as if they are hoping the rising level of "vocal" frustration will just die down. "If we don't acknowledge problems there aren't any." Fascinating to watch.

Is this going to end up as a Harvard Business Review case study on how not to manage negative publicity? And I have to wonder where the CIO is inside AT&T? Not a negative comment at all but just wondering how this is playing out. Is this a place where the savvy CIO should be collecting data, working with the CMO to effectively sense and respond?

As a customer I hope this prompts AT&T to finally react and begin to fix the problems. As a consultant, I can't help but wonder who's providing advice.

The tipping point: iPhone users turn against AT&T | Wireless News - Betanews: "Betanews

The tipping point: iPhone users turn against AT&T
By Tim Conneally | Published July 21, 2009, 3:24 PM
Print ArticleE-mail Article8 Comments
The iPhone crowd has turned into an anti-AT&T mob. Spend 30 seconds on Twitter or perform even the most basic search for iPhone and AT&T information and you're sure to run into some serious rancor from disgusted iPhone users across the country. While the exclusive partnership between Cupertino and the Dallas teleco has never been perfect, user hostility has lately been at a fevered pitch.
In February of this year, prominent blogger Om Malik announced he was 'breaking up' with his iPhone. 'I love my iPhone -- but AT&T's network has failed me. Apparently I'm not alone. If you follow me on Twitter, then you know how often I complain about it; my complaints always result in me receiving sim"

(Via .)

The iPhone's Visual Voicemail Is Broken For Many, How Is It For You? [At&t]

2009-07-20T16:53:00.001-07:00

I've griped as much as anyone about AT&T's service. I switched from Verizon with full knowledge of AT&T's spotty coverage, having used the 30 day trial period on the iPhone to get a feel for things. Yes, in the past 6 months it has gotten worse. But I bought into it and I still use my iPhone 3GS to do much more than I ever did with my Blackberries and Treo and WM phones.

What surprises me is the persistent way that AT&T seems to completely disregard the negative PR generated due to network problems. It's as if they're either a) oblivious or b) just don't care. Either way if I was a shareholder I'd be very concerned. No business can operate with this degree of arrogance and/or disregard for customer opinion. Without customer loyalty, you have no business over time.

The iPhone's Visual Voicemail Is Broken For Many, How Is It For You? [At&t]: "

If you own an iPhone, you've probably noticed lately that voicemails randomly show up a few days after they should have. The Visual Voicemail system is basically broken for people, and it's AT&T's fault. Why aren't they acknowledging it?

At this point, the problem is more than just a few scattered instances. Literally every single person I know that has an iPhone has complained about this problem. They'll just be sitting there and suddenly four voicemails will appear on their phone, some from as long as two weeks ago. It works for some people (commenters, some of us at Giz), but it's basically hosed for many others.

This has been happening for weeks now, yet AT&T has yet to acknowledge the problem. How is this happening? How can a major advertised feature of a carrier's flagship phone be completely broken and nothing be being done about it?

For many AT&T customers, this has got them at the end of their ropes. We've put up with terrible coverage, spotty 3G speeds and delayed rollout of super-basic features like MMS and tethering, but when we're missing potentially important messages, it begins getting downright unacceptable. We rely on voicemail to let us know when a family member or coworker or friend has left us a message, and whoever has left that message assumes we got it. Having it flat-out not work puts relationships and reputations on the line.

Apple has created a product that is, by most standards, amazing. Yet having it trapped on AT&T is ruining the experience for millions of people. Either AT&T needs to get its shit together, and fast, or Apple needs to get this phone on a more reliable carrier. Otherwise, people are going to start switching phones. Because no matter how awesome the iPhone is, it's just not worth it when it's not working.

(Via Gizmodo.)

5 Characteristics of a CIO Dashboard - Part 1 in a Series — CIO Dashboard

2009-06-27T14:28:00.001-07:00

This series of posts from Chris Curran of Diamond Partners caught my eye. It's an excellent summary on the subject of CIO Dashboards.

It's vital that a CIO have a way of measuring progress. Two keys in my mind beyond what's in Chris' articles:
be clear how what you are measuring ties to the business' goals and make sure the rest of the executive team including the Board understand your metrics. Sure you'll have internal goals that are too technical for the rest of the executive team to understand but be certain they tie to something they do understand.

Additionally, there should be two or three metrics that your boss knows and can articulate. In each of my CIO assignments, I've been successful in creating the Key 3 that the Board and the CEO "get" and track. For a recent client, one of those key's was an innovation ratio we created. It was an easily calculated measure that at a summary level gave an indication of course and speed. In other words, in one summary measure we could tell if we were going faster or slower. Easier said than done but worth the effort.

Anyways, Chris' series is so good I've captured it for future reference on my Del.icio.us tag cloud. Good stuff!

5 Characteristics of a CIO Dashboard - Part 1 in a Series — CIO Dashboard: ""

(Via .)

I love my iPhone it's my network I can live without.

2009-06-27T13:37:00.001-07:00

I received my new iPhone 3GS on Friday (pre-ordered on the 16th via AT&T's website for those tracking shipments). Much to like about especially the speed (Shock!) but the signal strength has been a concern. As I'm in Sunriver, OR this weekend I'm roaming on an EDGE network to begin with. Add a huge influx of people (4000+ athletes) here for the Pacific Crest Sports Weekend and it may be that the cell towers are maxed out. Things like Visual Voice Mail won't work reliably, email won't connect consistently. Thank God for the ability to use WiFi. Will be interesting to see what my experience is when I get back to the Seattle area. Anyone else experiencing these kinds of problems?

Bugs & Fixes: iPhone 3GS signal strength oddities | Phones | Mac 911 | Macworld: "
The Apple, Mac, iPod, and iPhone Experts

Macworld » iPhone » Phones
Jun 26, 2009 7:07 am
Bugs & Fixes: iPhone 3GS signal strength oddities
by Ted Landau, Macworld.com

I warn you at the outset. This is not going to be one of those Bugs & Fixes with a neatly defined set of symptoms and a iron-clad solution. This one’s a bit messy. Here’s the deal:

(Via .)

The Dizzying Economics of Cloud Computing « ARCHIMEDIUS

2009-06-16T16:40:00.001-07:00

Had a few minutes today to catch up on some reading from across the blogosphere (surely there's a better word than that isn't there?). Thus a double-posting day to this blog. Nothing like reading to stimulate thinking.

Greg's one of the few writers on the topic of technology infrastructures that always makes sense to me. Thus his blog, Archimedius, is in my Newsgator feed and always gets read sooner or later. As a CIO, particularly a consulting CIO, it's vital to get some help looking over the horizon for input to an evergreen IT strategy.

The thing that really resonated with me in this particular post was his point that "Those enterprises (and regions) stuck with manual labor tech empires will lose." I've been working with clients and as an "inside" CIO to prepare for the transition to cloud-based architectures for some time. Greg's point that "that enterprises should begin planning for the coming shift by automating their network infrastructure and reducing the manual labor and delays inherent in keeping a typical network available and secure." is a great one and should be extended from the network to compute and storage parts of the infrastructure as well.

A good and thought-provoking read.

The Dizzying Economics of Cloud Computing « ARCHIMEDIUS: "ARCHIMEDIUS

About
Posted by: gregness | May 8, 2009
The Dizzying Economics of Cloud Computing

The billowing state of cloud computing -from expansive, hazy definitions to product proclamations establishing a new level of irony for the term ‘vaporware’- has clouded some potentially interesting debates about technology and business and the increasingly strategic importance of the network.

I was on a call recently with some networking executives from Cisco, F5 Networks, Infoblox and VMware preparing for the May 21 Fire panel on infrastructure 2.0 (or dynamic infrastructure) when one of the panelists coined the term ‘just in time IT services’. There was a pregnant pause as soon as the term crossed the telephone wires."

(Via .)

IT Departments Cope with Dumped Products - BusinessWeek

2009-06-16T16:00:00.001-07:00

Interesting article on a problem that happens more often than it should. Besides the recommendations in the article, I'd add one of my own-

Negotiate the divorce settlement before you tie the knot. Technology agreements should read like a celebrity pre-nup. Let's face it, before you give the vendor any money is the time when you hold the leverage. The incentive on their side is enormous and will never again be as strongly in your favor. Use it. The contract is filled with legal mumbo jumbo that rarely gets invoked and is often, particularly in the case of small and medium size businesses, written by the vendor. Think about the risks to your company if the vendor discontinues the product and write in terms that protect you. And then stick to them throughout the negotiations.

Here's the deal- you have the money; they want the money. Make them earn it and the never-ending maintenance revenue stream by negotiating for terms that protect you and your investment in case of product termination for any reason. The job you save just might be your own!

IT Departments Cope with Dumped Products - BusinessWeek: "

IT Departments Cope with Dumped Products
Amid mergers and a rough economy, vendors are cutting out less-used products, leaving some customers in the cold, ComputerWorld reports.

TECHNOLOGY"

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Why Enterprises Are Moving to Google Apps, Gmail - CIO.com - Business Technology Leadership

2009-06-15T21:15:00.001-07:00

In today's economy, with CIO's continuing to be pushed to lower costs, I think there'll be more companies looking at basic infrastructure elements like email and light-weight office apps from Google and others. Given the costs outlined in this article, the benefits may be moving from attractive to compelling.

Anyone else making the switch from on-site, hosted to cloud-based email, etc? Google Apps and GMail or Microsoft's hosted Exchange?

Why Enterprises Are Moving to Google Apps, Gmail - CIO.com - Business Technology Leadership: ""

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Global CIO: Avnet Tears Up The B2B E-Commerce Playbook -- Global CIO -- InformationWeek

2009-06-15T15:03:00.001-07:00

Global CIO: Avnet Tears Up The B2B E-Commerce Playbook -- Global CIO -- InformationWeek

Loved this article and how Avnet Sr. VPs, Steve Phillips and Beth Ely, rethought how the company handled online customers. In the end, isn't every B2B company really in the B2C space? Yes, you may be selling to another company often in a wholesale-type environment. However, unless it's bulk transactions using EDI and the like, there's a person on the other end of the transaction. If you make it a challenge for that person- consumer- to do business with you, they just might opt out of the relationship at any time.

Look what the folks at Avnet put in:

Easy/no registration required to search
Smarter search and result set handling
Simplified shipping cost to more easily determine what it would cos
Online chat when needed
Other customer-centered features.

Nothing revolutionary here to be sure but innovative nonetheless. For CIO's who struggle to be seen as innovators and as strategic thinkers the lesson is clear- It's the customer, stupid!

George F. Colony's Blog: The Counterintuitive CEO: CIOs to CEOs: "Stay out of tech."

2009-06-12T08:17:00.001-07:00

This caught my eye the other day going through the post Forrester IT Forum material. I'd followed the event on Twitter (#FITF09) which was much easier than getting on an airplane but not as fun as being there..but I digress.

This stunned me. More CIO's than I can remember in some time are saying that they are struggling to be seen as "strategic", "on a par with line of business execs" and "unable to get/keep a seat at the table". If you think that the CEO or any other peer exec needs to "stay out of tech" then you've got a problem.

I want CxO's to be engaged in understanding what technology can do for and to them. An informed consumer is a better partner in delivering the benefits of technology. Telling the CEO to stay out of technology is 20 plus year old thinking and that's just not going to cut it. An informed CEO/CFO/CMO will willingly spend more on technology, understand better that risky IT doesn't always works as planned, and expect that it's not just information technology it's business technology that matters.

If you want to be seen as a business partner and strategic ally in your business, check your attitude- it may be showing.

George F. Colony's Blog: The Counterintuitive CEO: CIOs to CEOs: "Stay out of tech.": "

JUNE 05, 2009
CIOs to CEOs: 'Stay out of tech.'

Quickly: Some CIOs are still ambivalent about having the CEO involved in tech.

Content: At the Forrester IT Forum in Las Vegas two weeks ago, I held a private dinner for 15 Chief Information Officers. We worked on the question: 'How do you raise the tech IQ of your CEO?'

I've always thought a CEO who knew tech would be welcomed by the CIO. But most of the CIOs at my dinner didn't agree. Here are some comments:

1) 'The CEO should trust IT to get it right.'

2) 'CEOs are about making the company successful -- not on the minutiae of tech.'

3) 'The CEO is about results, not tech.'

Now I had a great time at the dinner, but I must respectfully disagree with my guests. The CEO doesn't have to program, but he/she cannot be ignorant when it comes to IT/business technology. I'm a big believer that the CEO must connect the outside w"

(Via .)

Forrester's IT Forum 2009, May 19-22, 2009, Las Vegas, NV - Forrester Research

2009-05-19T15:58:00.001-07:00

Forrester's IT Forum 2009, May 19-22, 2009, Las Vegas, NV - Forrester Research: ""

http://bit.ly/IBtsn

Forrester Twitters Away in Las Vegas

I've long been a big fan of Forrester Research. The research is relevant, meaty enough and usually written in a style that is easily digested. I used to carry the latest research with me whenever I traveled as reading material. Never had to worry about battery life or the person in front of me shattering the hinges on my laptop by pushing the seat back.

This week I'm following the 2009 Forrester IT Forum on Twitter from the comfort of my office. Snippets of 140 characters from the keynote and a bazillion retweets. (The hashtag to follow along is #FITF09).

Some interesting stuff I can use in talking with Boards of Directors and CxO's in our consulting work.

"#FITF09 Forrester data shows IT only delivers 1/2 the value expected from business' perspective. Only 1/3 measure value post-implementation." Ok, now that's good stuff....at least when it comes to selling the CEO. Sad at the same time as IT/CIO's continue to struggle with the ever-popular IT-Business Alignment challenge.

In the end this is a CIO's failure not the business'. Unless the project is to "fix" something within IT there's no reason on earth that IT should be solely accountable for delivery of value! CIOs- If the business doesn't OWN the project AND the value proposition, you're in trouble from day one! Secondly, if as CIO you're signing up for a project where value delivery is your responsibility you better know from the beginning how you're going to get it.

See, it's OK in my book to sign up for delivering the project ROI as long as you've got the ability to bring it off. That means agreement from the business and the CxO's that you are going to be able to make the business changes necessary. You can't be held accountable for business results not in your area of responsibility. Yet it happens all the time. We see it in our work and Forrester's research shows it as well.

So what's a savvy CIO to do?

1. Start by being very clear in your own mind about how the benefits are derived. Headcount reduction? Exactly what is going to enable that to happen? What are the critical success factors and how are they measured? What are the interim milestones along the way?

2. The business leadership needs to have the same understanding and clarity around not just the benefits but how they'll be obtained, who's responsible, what the metrics- both interim and final- and how they're calculated.

3. Track, report and act on the interim milestones. This has to be done in the context of the steering committee where the business owners and IT meet to review progress. This is where things begin to break down. Projects never get off the rails all of a sudden. Failing to deliver expected value occurs a missed milestone at a time. So project governance becomes a critical success factor.

Seems easy enough but why do CIO's continue to fail on this point?? What do you think?

Justifying the spend on UC collaboration | NetworkWorld.com Community

2009-05-04T11:36:00.001-07:00

Good, brief article on justifying the spend for UCC (Unified Communications and Collaboration) tools in the enterprise. I'm a big believer in the value of integrated presence-aware applications to speed up the flow of information around the corporation and reduce the friction inherent in time-space. Reducing the latency in communications, the need for travel (can you say "pandemic") and ability to build and maintain relationships just makes sense. Unfortunately, it rarely if ever makes dollars and cents, at least in a direct enough fashion to be able to satisfy the CFO. At some point, it's a bit of a leap of faith and as such it's critically important that the CIO enlist the support of the rest of the executive team. If you can't get them to believe that faster communication is better, then you're going to run a significant risk of being seen as pushing a technology solution without a problem.

Justifying the spend on UC collaboration | NetworkWorld.com Community: ""

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Oracle Agrees to Acquire Sun Microsystems - WSJ.com

2009-04-20T14:22:00.001-07:00

Oracle Agrees to Acquire Sun Microsystems - WSJ.com: "

TECHNOLOGY APRIL 20, 2009, 4:45 P.M. ET
Oracle Agrees to Acquire Sun Microsystems

By DON CLARK and BEN WORTHEN

Oracle Corp. announced a deal to buy Sun Microsystems Inc. for $7.4 billion, a surprise union of software and hardware companies that emerged following failed talks for International Business Machines Corp. to buy Sun.

Oracle, which has been snapping up smaller software companies for several years, agreed to pay $9.50 a share for Sun."

(Via .)

As a CIO, I have a hard time seeing much customer benefit from this transaction unless you were committed to Oracle DB/Apps on Solaris. If I was in that camp, I'd immediately begin looking for a negotiated reduction in my maintenance expenses based on the combined spend. I'd expect a visit from my CFO as well, asking where I was in that negotiation. Particularly in this part of the economic cycle renegotiating maintenance deals is par for the course. The bigger the customer, the bigger the discount that I'd be pushing for especially if I had a significant Solaris footprint. Tough to switch databases, less so for the hardware/OS underneath. Given that, I don't see how the deal adds profit to Oracle absent significant and fast cost take-outs from Sun.

If I'm not committed to Oracle on Solaris, and in the shops I've run as CIO I never was in that group, I am worried about a variety of things. Not the least of these is the commitment to MySQL. With any kind of installed base of this open source DBMS, I'd be looking very carefully at options. Oracle pricing, particularly maintenance pricing and the (perceived, at least) de-bundling of products over time, has been a significant annoyance at best.

Will be interesting to see how this plays out. What's your take on things?

SNS "Open Letter to the Board of Directors"

2009-04-16T15:41:00.001-07:00

SNS: A Bright Fire: ""

Mark Anderson's open letter is an excellent and thought provoking read. In my experience as a corporate officer for multiple companies over the years, the best Boards performed largely as Mark suggests. They did their homework, challenged management's assumptions and kept asking questions until they either understood or knew you didn't.

As I wrote here getting the Board relationship right is vitally important. Done well, they can be a significant ally to the CIO's efforts.

CIO Blog: 10 Steps to Successful IT

2009-04-14T18:04:00.001-07:00

I really like Peter Birley's list for practicing successful IT. He brings up a couple of key points which are quite often missed by CIO's. No particular order but marketing your successes and working with suppliers should be no-brainers but inexplicably seem to get lost.

In my mind you have two kinds or classes of IT suppliers- partners and vendors. Partners should be a) severely limited in number and b) not only behave as a partner, never abusing the relationship but be critical to your success. The rest, sorry to say, need to be relegated to the vendor status. To me, this means they have much more limited access to you and your teams and will, by design, not be nearly as influential. A good partnership can be invaluable.

Marketing (Peter's point 10. Shout about it) is absolutely spot on. My saying here is "Bad news travels fast, good news doesn't travel at all." Just like any business you need to be letting customers and business partners know about your successes. This has the added benefit of banking political capital for use later.

Great advice from Peter!

CIO Blog: 10 Steps to Successful IT: ""

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Latest Happenings

2009-04-07T12:47:00.001-07:00

Can't believe it's been 2 months since the last post. I've had a number of inquiries and rather than email replies I figured it's time to post an update.

The Webinar I did for CIO.com back in January was very well received including some "best yet" comments. Much appreciated and it was fun for me as well. The gist of my message was that, particularly in tough times, there really are only a couple of key executive relationships which CIO's have to get right. You can see the presentation here. Comments and feedback, as always, are incredibly valuable!

Beyond that, I took some time off including some great skiing (though never enough) at Mt. Bachelor. I checked out some cool technology at Twinverse. I even did a bit of flying (again, not enough) in my airplane.

Started working again focusing on better defining our service offerings and building a partner network. Given our background it's no surprise that we're lining up some first rate partners in the Supply Chain space including Symbius. Others in work.

Certainly the economy is dominating most discussions though I'm finding some patches of sunlight breaking through. Finally! In general, CEO's seem willing to invest a) for a near-term return and b) with much more focus than previously, i.e. fewer investments done "right". The latter suits our mantra of "doing fewer things but doing them extraordinarily well".

Finally, we've got a CIO Forum in Seattle later this month on April 30th for breakfast. I'm excited to get the group back together and given the pressure on costs, think the speaker, John Krpan of Sierra Systems, is a great fit. Let me know if you haven't received your invitation.

How's things where you are?

By the way, you can follow me now on Twitter: pfflynn.

A Bright Fire » Archives » Steve Ballmer’s Speech to the Democrats

2009-02-12T13:30:00.001-08:00

Mark Anderson is one of the most entertaining, insightful, and occasionally vexing writers I read on a regular basis. I read every newsletter he sends out same day and save all of them for reference.

Even when I disagree with his perspective (think politics here!), it's not for lack of substance, which I find refreshing. In the case of the linked article and text from a speech by Microsoft's CEO, Steve Ballmer, I'm very much in agreement. If the government is going to spend $800B (more) in some sort of stimulus package, investing in the kinds of things that have long, positive impacts seems to me to be a no-brainer. Physical infrastructure, basic science and technology research and development are key levers enabling a healthy economy. They've been neglected too long in this country.

Since the final text of the compromise bill still isn't available (as I write this) to the public, guess we'll just have to trust our representatives to not waste our money. Ahahahaha! Sorry, cynical Congress bashing over. Take a look here for an interesting graphical look at where the money is supposed to go over time.

Meanwhile, read Steve's comments. We need to invest in science and technology not just at the level of infrastructure (broadband internet access, for example) but pure R&D.

A Bright Fire » Archives » Steve Ballmer’s Speech to the Democrats: ""

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What do you think? Are we going to get there? Which countries are doing the best job of managing through the crisis?

Do Boards Think a CIO's Aim is to Influence Spending? - CIO - Blogs and Discussion

2009-01-29T20:52:00.001-08:00

I thought Chris Pott's comments at CIO.com were not only right on target but timely given the seminar I led on Wed (see the previous post).

I replied to Chris' post:

CIO's too often can't communicate with the Board because they focus on selling technology. Couple that with the mindset to influence spending or more precisely getting all the budget they can extract and it's no wonder that CIO's aren't seen as real members of the management team.

If you are on the team, you have to know the plays and most importantly your responsibilities on each play. My coaching to CIO's and would-be CIO's I work with in mentoring roles is to look at the Dallas Cowboys' Terrell Owens. Incredibly talented but not really a long-term member of the team. Act like him and expect to be pushed to the side regardless of your talent.

Do Boards Think a CIO's Aim is to Influence Spending? - CIO - Blogs and Discussion: ""

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Leading a Webinar tomorrow

2009-01-27T23:52:00.001-08:00

Kind of late notice I suppose but I'm leading a online seminar tomorrow for CIO Magazine's Executive Council's Pathways Leadership Development (that's a lengthy title!) program. Entitled "Managing Executive Relationships: Keeping Your Fences Mended" I'm hoping to spark a discussion of some of the softer sides of being CIO.

From the seminar description: "The CIO role is difficult enough in the best of times, but in the current economic environment, it's even more important than ever to spend time working on solidifying your relationships with the rest of the executive team. Failing to do so can mean more than just budget cuts.

Patrick Flynn, former CIO of Celestica, will speak on this call about his experience, and share some best practices for keeping your relationship fences mended."

This is a subject I'm passionate about because it's key to success not just of the CIO but of his or her organization. Particularly in these tough times, we've got to be sure we're working hard to maintain solid relationships with the various technology stakeholders. Get it wrong and you'll likely find yourself looking for the next job!

Over the next few weeks, I'll touch on this topic some more.