Wots a CIO?
I've been in a whole swag of industries where I use IT as a means to complete my particular task. I've never actually met a CIO though I've heard rumours they exist.
I've worked at the top level of Government including developing Whole Of Government ICT policy and strategy.
My best guess is that a CIO is perhaps responsible for ICT strategy in support for the corporate business plan. I understand that more often than not the CIO is subordinate to the CFO.
In an uber-well run organisation the CIO would be a vital part of the development and maintenance of the business plan. This includes anticipating organisational demands as well as anticipating technology changes and doing the SWOT analysis on existing and new Technologies.
I seriously doubt the CFO can do this. They are just accountants after all and have some minor skills at spreadsheets (I emphasise minor).
ICT is a reasonably fast changing environment and if an organisation doesn't keep up they risk being outpaced by competitors or, more usually, being fleeced by incumbent suppliers.
I can readily envision the big account managers of some suppliers working to knock out any effective CIOs and get the risk averse CFO to be the only decision maker in the organisation.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
