Do You Love or Hate IT: PART 1

Susan Cramm, Founder and President of Valuedance                                                              

Learn about the fundamental differences between IT and business leaders, and why they need to work together to form a successful business. We had the opportunity to speak with Susan Cramm, the founder and president of Valuedance, an executive coaching and leadership development firm. Over the past 14 years, Cramm has coached executives from a number of Fortune 500 clients. She is a blogger for the Harvard Business Review and author of the Harvard Business Press book, “8 Things We Hate about IT:  How to Move Beyond the Frustrations to form a New Partnership with IT.” Cramm is a former CFO and Executive Vice President at Chevy’s Mexican Restaurants. Prior to Chevy’s, Cramm held the positions of CIO and Vice President of the Information Technology Group and Senior Director of Financial and Strategic Planning of the Taco Bell Corporation. We interviewed Cramm on her IT experience, her book, her blog and her thoughts on CIOs and the IT industry today.

MES: Please tell me about “8 Reasons Why I Hate IT.” How did you come up with this list, and what do you think it means for IT going forward?

CRAMM: I came up with the eight reasons because there seems to be a constant common ingredient across the board when you talk to both IT and business leaders—there is a sense of frustration. From the business leaders' standpoint, no matter what they ask for, it’s too little delivered and is always too late and for too much, and from the IT leaders' perspective, no matter what IT does it doesn’t seem like it’s enough. They are always struggling to keep up with the overwhelming demand. I wrote the blog in the beginning of my tenure with Harvard Online, and it is a blog reaching out to business leaders about helping them become more engaged in IT and more educated about IT—it is also to help them lead and manage in IT. According to my research, only about 25 percent of business leaders consider themselves smart about IT, so there is a big confidence gap.

The longer-term goal is that given the fact that IT is embedded across every business and in virtually every business process, IT is something that can no longer just be delegated to the IT department; it has to be a fundamental part of the business leader’s job description.

MES: Now, please tell me about “8 Reasons Why I Love IT.”

CRAMM: Interestingly enough, this blog was not as commented on as the “8 Reasons Why I Hate IT” blog. It was really to show that relationships or any controversial perspective has two points of view. In order to reconcile the relationship or to make any progress, you have to understand both perspectives because there is truth in both lists. I have personally experienced both sides of those lists and what I think is fundamentally a heartbreak of mine, as well as a huge opportunity, is for us to work past those frustrations and “form a partnership.”

MES:  You wrote: “The challenge in front of us is to create a future where the capacity to innovate isn't limited by the size or shape of the IT organization.” What do you see for the future of IT, and in your opinion, how do you think CIOs can make their IT business plan better?

CRAMM: I’m glad that you picked out that quote because that is the fundamental reason why I wrote the book and is why I think business leaders need to get a lot smarter about IT.  We have a huge opportunity to exploit technology and benefit our businesses, but if we have a competency gap between IT and business leaders, we aren’t going to be able to exploit IT to its fullest. In order to do that, we need to create leaders across the organization that understand how to exploit their current tools, understand where technology is going, understand their business processes, have a much better grasp of the information both inside and outside of their company to help drive decision-making and how to really put this asset to work for the company.

 Right now, within virtually every organization that I have worked with during my 30-plus years in IT, their capacity for innovation technology and enabled innovation is gated by the numbers of employees in IT, specifically the number of employees who are project managers, architects and business analysts and solution designers. So, there are a very small number of people within a company who can actually help execute technology innovation. This is a little scary and has caused companies to want to reach outside their organization and create extended relationships with technology providers, which is a good solution, but it doesn’t make up for the fact that technology leadership really needs to come from within a company. You really can’t buy leadership from outside of a company; those resources external to a company should be led and integrated by those leaders within a company.

Vendor Spotlight: Emerging Vendor Makes Big Strides In The Midmarket

Dr. Shinichi Urano, Chief Scientist and Co-Founder, Kubisys

In this vendor spotlight, we sat down with Dr. Shinichi Urano, the chief scientist and co-founder of Kubisys. He gave his insight on the midmarket, what Kubisys is doing in that space, specifically in the area of disaster recovery, how he feels about cloud and, lastly, he gives advice to other emerging vendors.

MES: Please tell me about a specific example that displays the successful implementation of a Kubisys product or service in a midmarket organization.

URANO: One of our early adopters was faced with this specific challenge of deploying patches and updates into their production servers in a manner that’s safe and acceptable to the business. Of course, deploying them directly into production was not an option, since they are a national retail business, and they relied on their production applications being available close to 24x7. So, applying patches was a real challenge to them, since they had the need to minimize any downtime, even for maintenance, and they had bad experiences in the past—well, as many have—of deploying patches and updates that badly broke their production application.

So, the obvious solution is to create and maintain a staging environment where they can test and validate these patches before rolling them out into production. Creating and maintaining such an environment is not as easy as it sounds, however. They had actually spent six months on a project to implement a process of creating and refreshing a staging environment, combining virtualization with various tools, and it was still far from perfect.

That’s when we walked in. Kubisys Thin Capture was able to rapidly create a staging environment for them by cloning their production environment. Now they have a process where each time the patches come out, they spin up a staging environment using Thin Capture, apply the patches, and undergo testing before rolling them out into production.

Another customer that we are excited about is going to be using Thin Capture to spin up copies of their Active Directory infrastructure for what I might call “architectural migration.” Basically, they are changing around their Active Directory structure to bring them in line with best practices so they can deploy new applications. At the same time, they must maintain something like 40 different legacy applications that depend on Active Directory. Using Thin Capture, they will be able to validate that these deep changes to their Active Directory will not impact their production before actually making those changes.

MES: What is the Kubisys Thin Capture, and how can it help CIOs and their IT organizations reduce cost and accelerate IT?

URANO: Thin Capture is the first commercial product that allows you to rapidly capture and replicate existing live applications. The replicated environment is fully functional, with all networking, O/S, and application configurations and data intact. The replicated environment is spun up upon a virtualization platform—we use open-source Xen in our appliance-based solution—and insulated from production via a firewall.  Basically, it lives inside a network bubble.

Now, as you might imagine, there are many uses for such replicas of your production application environment. We are finding that our strongest value is in allowing our customers to save weeks of time when faced with the challenge of deploying and refreshing a test environment for their various IT projects. Also, because a fresh environment can be spun up so quickly—it only takes about 15 minutes—this makes it possible to consolidate the various testing environments from a workflow point of view. Instead of having multiple test environments lying around taking up resources—and these are typically very underutilized—you can spin a few of them up within a single Thin Capture platform when needed.

MES: What other new Kubisys products are going to be introduced to the midmarket in the future?

URANO: We are closely working with our partners and our customers to develop additional features and add-ons to our core product right now. One of the items we are looking at is a version of our solution that will be using ESX—that is, VMware—as the virtualization platform to host the captured environments. This version will be deployed as a virtual appliance.

MES: In your opinion, what is the implementation, or lack thereof, of the cloud?

URANO: From a technology viewpoint, our solution fits well into the definition of a private cloud. We provide a user-friendly portal where basically the users can dial up a test environment on demand from the pool of resources that’s present within our appliance. So I suppose we can say that our customers have implemented a private test cloud.

We are noticing, as per the MES East keynote from the Gartner analyst Thomas Bittman, that people are certainly interested in hybrid cloud, though we have yet to see actual implementations. We are also very interested in this space, and are planning our road map to help our customers implement hybrid cloud solutions.

MES: What is Kubisys doing in the midmarket in the areas of cloud computing and disaster recovery?

URANO: As I mentioned earlier, we are very interested in the cloud space. We are currently a private cloud solution, and we agree with Gartner that the next logical evolution—the one that many organizations in the mid-enterprise will gravitate toward—is to the hybrid cloud. We are working on a solution that will make it a lot easier for organizations to roll out such a solution by making it easier for them to integrate with their on-premise infrastructure.

As for DR, we are also looking at using our technology to provide planning and testing for DR. What we actually do, from the technology point of view, is very much like a DR dry run. Thus it is possible to use our technology to plan out how best to “power-on” the DR site, and also to right-size it.

MES: What advice would you give to other emerging vendors in the midmarket?

URANO: I think it’s extremely important for an emerging vendor to listen. Many of us come out of existing businesses where a business process has been created to basically get the message across, and to sell products into specific markets. For an emerging vendor, such a process is still work in progress, and it’s important that one listens carefully to the prospects and customers and continuously adjust the business processes accordingly.

MES is a great event for emerging vendors because we get that chance to meet with and listen to a lot of executives who are daily struggling with the challenges of managing technology.

Accepting Mobile Diversity

The trend toward mobile diversity is going to take more planning than may currently be in evidence. Fewer than 50 percent of companies have an infrastructure strategy for mobile diversity and consumer-liable devices, according to Jack Gold, rounder and principal analyst of J. Gold Associates. Gold, who led a track session on the topic at Mid-Size Enterprise Summit West 2011, concluded that more than 35 percent of companies supported the trend in some way, with options for employees to use their own devices for work purposes, for example.

Before we begin to accept mobile diversity, let’s first answer the question: “What is mobile diversity?” Well, in a nutshell, mobile diversity is the implementation by a CIO or IT leader to accept various mobile devices, such as smartphones, iPads and other tablets, into the organization’s IT infrastructure. Furthermore, members of the organization could be able to bring their own devices to be connected to the IT system. Wouldn’t that be great? Well, although it’s a very attractive scenario to the organization’s employees, for CIOs and IT leaders, this could pose a serious security issue.

Without a solid strategic foundation upon which to lay a mobile diversity platform, it may come as no surprise that 10 percent to 20 percent of companies have already experienced a data breach as a result of mobile device use. The concept of inadequate mobile security is continuing to be an issue and Gold said it will become an increasingly important area of focus over the next one to two years.

IT leaders need to be careful about which platforms make the most sense for their organization’s needs. What they decide to support will impact everything from strategy, to cost structure, to risk profiles, “Choices made will affect the productivity and efficiency of the entire organization and the cost to the organization,” Gold said. In sum, when it comes to mobile systems, you’re not just picking a device; you are picking an ecosystem.

Tablets might not play as big a role in mobile diversity initiatives, yet. Although they are popular with end users, they generally do not offer a significant return for enterprises. “We do not expect tablets to replace more than 10 [percent] to 15 percent of enterprise laptops within the next two to three years,” he said. Still, they can coexist in a company’s IT infrastructure over that period, where appropriate.

Said Gold: “Organizations should establish a MAC [Mobile Advisory Council] as a way to manage and balance the diverse desires and needs of the company and its users. If this is done right, it can take your company from being reactive to completely proactive.”

Building Bridges: The Relationship Between CIOs And CMOs

 Whether they like it or not, CIOs and CMOs are becoming inextricably linked. Each department lives in a completely different world with different personalities and different objectives. But, nowadays, how different do you really think their objectives are?

In this digital age, during the digital marketing revolution, CMOs are beginning to heavily rely on CIOs and vice versa. In Are CIOs From Mars? If So, It's Time for CMOs to Visit, Lisa Arthur, a contributor on Forbes.com, said that IT executives are increasingly interested in forming prevalent and legitimate partnerships with CMOs. Arthur writes, “CIOs recognize that these days it’s not just marketing that drives business growth –it’s digital marketing that drives business growth. Technology and marketing are now inextricably tied. Success depends on collaboration.” This collaboration eventually may lead companies to create a new position that combines CIO and CMO capabilities. That, however, is just a prediction based on two’s growing interdependence.

 “Nowadays, one of the most important relationships in the organization just might be the CMO/CIO relationship. With the advent of social media, customer retention technologies, and business intelligence that utilizes external data, the CIO and CMO—working together—can probably drive more value than any other relationship in the organization,” said Niel Nickolaisen, CIO of Western Governor’s University.

Nickolaisen continued by explaining, from his perspective, that the CMO helps define how the organization positions and differentiates itself while the CIO should be exploiting the latest technologies, in an increasingly technology-driven marketplace, to improve the organization's position and differentiation. These two roles, once collaborative, can yield exponential growth because the organization will have the ability to find its place, and further differentiate itself through technology advancements in one smooth transition.

One CIOs and CMOs understand this need for alliance, it is important to understand the specific areas of the organization in which their teamwork will best serve. According to the Forbes.com article, based on knowledge and data from Nigel Fenwick, lead author of the report, marketing and IT must now work together in the areas of data collection (of both internal and external channels), automated analysis (which lead to actionable insight), targeted distribution (using the data to effectively communicate and interact with customers) and superior customer experience. By working alongside the marketing department and CMOs on these topics, CIOs will have the advantage of getting more involved in the business processes and CMOs will have the advantage of having strong technical knowledge acting toward their efforts.

CIOs and CMOs must also work together on social media strategies and deployments. Internal and external social networking, mostly done by the marketing team for promotional purposes, can become a safety issue that CIOs must deal with. For this reason, CIOs and CMOs must collaborate on social media techniques done within the organization.

CIOs are feeling that CMOs and CIOs share common goals in ensuring the success of the enterprise through efficiencies, especially when it comes to social networking security. Dialogue between CMOs and CIOs is necessary to form a common understanding of where the risks exist and how they can be minimized. According to Paul Harder, the director of technology for Arc Greater Twin Cities, “with every efficiency, there is a cost. An individual’s personal story shared via insecure social media about the agency’s good works is quickly forgotten when the news of the day reveals a violated network and the personal story moves to the personal identity. The CIO needs to partner with the CMO to help build strategy and enable social media that are relevant to the security posture and organizational mission.”

These various needs for a marketing/IT partnership lead CIOs to the question: So, now what? To respond to the needs of the marketing department, Fenwick suggests hiring IT staff with marketing expertise. According to the article, “The report also offers specific suggestions to help CIOs structure their teams for success with marketing.” The recommendations include: (1) “Demonstrate trust. Tear down the silos. Break through the stereotypes. Listen. And work from a foundation of mutual respect.” (2) “Hire IT staff with marketing expertise. In other words, create teams that can communicate.” (3) “Focus on customer insight and real-time analytics. Success in the digital marketplace will require deep information analytics capability.” These recommendations will help your IT team grow, prosper and move with the digitally changing times.

It is time to get personal with your CMO and truly understand what his or her team does so you can understand what your IT team needs to do in conjunction with their efforts to boost the organization’s profits. “In this new era (of the empowered customer), mastering customer data becomes the key to success and represents the biggest opportunity for IT to influence business results since the dawn of the Internet,” writes Fenwick. Any way that IT can act as a driving force to business success is beneficial because more business equals more money, more money equals more spending and more spending equals the opportunity for CIOs to upgrade and update the organization’s IT infrastructure.

“An excellent marketing/IT relationship is now not only natural, but is also essential,” said Nickolaisen. Break those barriers and build those bridges. You won’t be disappointed.

Alicia's Advice: What CIOs Can Learn From Steve Jobs

For my first advice column, I want to take this opportunity to recognize one of the most influential innovators the world has ever seen: Steve Jobs. I couldn’t let this time pass without paying tribute to the man who led us into the mobility era and revolutionized the way we view, and interact with, technology today. I, for one, can’t imagine a world without Steve Jobs and his contributions; especially for the fact that I am writing this story on one of the devices he invented.

My advice to you is to take some time to really analyze the contributions that Steve Jobs made, not only to the technology industry, but also to the world as a whole. Maybe you aren’t in a position to change the whole world, but you definitely are in the position to positively change your organization.

As CIOs and IT leaders, you can learn a multitude of leadership strategies and characteristics from Jobs. Below are a few things I feel, if implemented, could benefit you are your organization.

·       Don’t take no for an answer. Break the rules and answer for them later. Although Jobs had some resistance at times, he pushed through and triumphed.

·       Always think outside the box. The technology advancements that Jobs contributed would have never been manifested if he colored within the lines.

·       Lead your team to greatness, but don’t let greatness define your direction. Jobs never seemed to worry about whether or not his products would be his greatest failure or his biggest success; he just went for it.

·       Be confident and courageous. When you truly believe in yourself and your ideas, your team will too.

·       Innovation always starts from one idea. If you have an idea and you feel that it will change the course of your organization for the better, don’t be hesitant to share it because it could potentially be the answer to everything you are looking for.

·       Don’t be afraid to build new relationships. Before Jobs’ passing, he finalized Apple’s relationship with Verizon to carry the iPhone; this relationship took his empire to the next level. Build new relationships with your CEOs, CFOs and CMOs; maybe it will yield great benefit for all parties, but you won’t know until you make the move.

I have an iPhone, an iPad, an iPod Touch and a MacBook Pro, and my allegiance to Apple is based on the fact that Steve Jobs led his team to perfection, in a world where perfection doesn’t really even exist. Steve Jobs was a true innovator, a true pioneer, a true visionary and a true leader. We will always remember him not only for the technology he had a hand in creating, but also for the impact that those creations made on our world forever.

President Barack Obama said via Twitter, “Steve was among the greatest of American innovators - brave enough to think differently, bold enough to believe he could change the world, and talented enough to do it.”

The Multiple Personalities of the CIO

What type of CIO are you? What are your characteristics? The role of the CIO is evolving, and its evolution is a crucial piece of the puzzle as we move into the next generation of IT. According to Ray Wang, principal analyst and CEO of Constellation Research, there are four personas of the CIO, which have emerged as a result of innovation, cost reduction, connectivity and business intelligence pressures.

The four personas of the CIO are: Chief Integration Officer, Chief Innovation Officer, Chief Intelligence Officer and Chief Infrastructure Officer. Each persona brings with it different responsibilities and requires different interactions within the company. But, regardless of the persona (or personas) the CIO inhabits at any one time, he or she must sustain a good relationship with the business leaders of the organization and understand the business side as well as the IT side. 

“Aligning with business can help an IT leader sustain [his or her] career path,” said James Fielder, vice president of Info System Research at Farm Credit Services of Illinois. “I tell my staff to go out and learn about what each department does within the company’s infrastructure. Building relationships is the most important thing because it shows that you understand all of the areas of the business.”

During Wang’s recent keynote at the Midsize Enterprise Summit 2011 on this topic, the audience was especially excited by the Chief Innovation Officer persona. Said Brian Millsap, CIO of Hampton Products, “I think this is the most fun. The challenge in my team is to keep my team on the cutting edge of technology for the business. I have to understand the business need and to be on the forefront of the business’ need.”

Millsap also offered up his thoughts about adding another persona to the list. “In IT, we want systems to run smoothly. We have to have the data or the system can’t roll,” he said. “It’s as though we should be called ‘the chief business process officer.”

One thing holds true regardless of the particular role a CIO may find him or herself in. “The CIO role is continuing to evolve and it is looking more like a business position,” Wang said. This statement is more and more beginning to be a reality as IT leaders are striving to work with, instead of alongside, the business leaders of their company.

The four personas of a CIO allow for the growth and change needed in an organic industry such as IT. It is important for IT leaders to understand that they don’t have to be just one persona, but instead could be all four at the same time. Although they are all different aspects of the CIO role, they still are somewhat similar in that they all describe the task of creating strategies, navigating and, most importantly, bringing on massive change.