CIOs and IT managers – staying ahead in a data bonanza

In this data crazy world with data hungry people everywhere, CIOs and IT managers are feeling the mounting pressure. People are ravenous to get their hands on their data and fast. So how can CIOs and IT managers better manage this pressure?

Create better governance

With IT budgets getting smaller and the reliance on IT growing, balancing priorities and meeting business expectations can feel a little overwhelming.

IT journalist, Scott Lowe said “CIOs are frustrated because they’re in a constant state of fire-fighting and they are finding themselves either simply having to say no to avoid ongoing overload or always having to respond to the person that yells the loudest.”

Good governance aids in alleviating these issues by creating a way that both IT and the user can prioritize and come to an agreement to ensure all the work gets done in a well managed way.

Become a value creator

McKinsey & Company said grasping the business value from IT is challenging however CIOs who are successful in this endeavor broaden their scope of actions beyond the technical sphere and traditional IT levels. They came to this conclusion after studying 11 companies in France who successfully used IT to gain a competitive advantage stating “the value-in-use of information technology emerges when the IT department, building on a foundation of core performance, attacks problems and seeks solutions in areas that interest the business units and IT alike.”

Aligning ITs goals with the overarching business goals and clear communication with business leaders throughout the organization all help in aiding success and being seen as a key value creator in the organization.

Mark Schaffner explained adding value (and doing it quickly) can be key factors in IT achieving a couple of its other goals: a true partnership with the business and being thought of as an area for investment rather than a cost center to be tightly controlled.

Innovation through new systems

Actions speak louder than words. Especially when it comes to revenue raising activities stemming from your department.

I read a great story a few weeks ago on an IT department at an airline in the US using marketing concepts to add value with their boarding pass technology. What they did was instead of just listing the name, seat number and the other mandatories that are required, this airline went one step further and added the weather at the destination and a list of local events the traveler may be interested in attending. Not just adding value for the traveler, this space could later be sold as advertising space as a revenue raiser for the airline. “The key is realizing that technology makes things possible that only a short time ago could not be done… it really is about changing the paradigm of how we approach things,” the article wrote.

What the airlines IT department did, was they saw an opportunity to develop revenue opportunities and ran with it.

A step in the right direction - how Phocas can help you:

Phocas is self-service business intelligence software that is IT governed. It consolidates relevant organizational datasources into data analytics solutions designed for everyone from the CEO to sales reps.
Phocas gives the people who need answers and reports about what’s going on in the business access to a single version of the truth. Introducing self service significantly reduces the expectation on IT to produce and/or alter cumbersome reports to satisfy the business needs. And the best thing is IT still gets to maintain the flow and restriction of data to the users making sure that everyone only sees data that is relevant to them.