The average CIO holds that position for 18 months but has to project at least six months further into the future, observed BMC Software CIO Jay Gardner during remarks at the GigaWorld IT Forum, held last month in Phoenix.
“In January, I was 17 months into the job, and I started to worry,” Gardner recalled, “because there were so many issues on my plate. … I realized that I cant do it all.” He offered attendees at his session the resulting list of key issues and tasks for IT governance.
Gardners list begins at the top of the organization, he said, with strategic imperatives that have to come from the corporate level. The IT department has to take that lead and act as part of the business, Gardner said, and not leave it up to the business units to figure out how to use ITs capabilities.
The challenge in the current environment, said Gardner, is balancing short-term pressures with long-term technology cycles. “My CEO, when he thinks about IT, asks, What are they doing for us? And wants us to do more with less,” he said.
At the same time, Gardner urged listeners to keep asking, “Are we building today what we need two years from now?”