The Evolving Role of the Cio

Abstract

There is no doubt that organization since the 1990s are viewing information technology (IT) as an integral part of their strategy for the future. It is not seen only, like in the past, as a simple tool to communicate and decrease production costs, but there is a total recognition on the role it plays and continues to play in business performance and strategic planning. A situation that is necessitating a similar makeover and transformation of IT departments are structured and run. It is how the Chief Information Officer (CIO) came about, as a direct result of this shift. There is not a single and universal way of defining the CIO and his or her job description and responsibilities he or she might have within an organization depend on its structure, and how the organization is trying to achieve throughout the position. Nevertheless, and until recently organization hire CIOs as "simply department managers who ensure that all PC's can be turned on and that the processes work". But, because and like never before, businesses are relying on information technology to gain competitive advantage, the job and responsibilities of the CIO is evolving, making the position that can help transform the entire organization objective by innovating and sustaining its core competencies and knowledge that will guarantee this competitive advantage. This paper will succinctly explore three main facets of CIO's job description: 1) the practical side of the CIO, 2) the CIO position merged with another executive position, and 3) the CIO transformed into a new more strategy oriented executive position; and finally, focuses on developing an argumentation in favor of the third option by laying out how the role of the CIO has evolved over the last two decades.

Introduction

The CIO job description at the beginning when organizations have been looking for somebody to head and develop their IT needs has been simple and straightforward. This role has being for the most part a backstage work of making sure the organization IT infrastructures are up and running smoothly. But and certainly as perceivable as it can be in most organizations, aspiring for increased productivity, strategic and competitive advantage, the shift in attitudes when it comes to IT as centerpiece and how it should be an integrated part of the organization is discussed in the boardroom and at executive level, and so is how the CIO can play this role. That is, the role of the CIO has evolved from what it was couple decades ago, and it tends to become a transformational role with the now globalization process.

This paper will lay out the three definitions or what the role of the CIO has being perceived to be from its inception until now: 1) the practical side of the CIO, 2) the CIO position merged with another executive position, and 3) the CIO transformed into a new more strategy oriented executive position. Having said that, there are traditional, the evolved and the transformational views of what was and what are expected from the CIO. But as organizations and businesses have to go through their own changes and restructuration due to global competition, many of them come to grasp with the reality that IT has the potential to get them through the storm and allow them to reposition their model or at least their view of the IT department, and it is this reality or necessity that is pushing organizations to review their organizational structure, and make the necessary change in the role of the CIO. In order to amplify that reality, this paper will next focus on the evolving role of the CIO by going through the reasons that support and are facilitating the transformation of the role of the CIO into a new more strategy oriented executive position, and how this reality is transforming the whole perspective of organizations hiring a CIO that is a leader in many capacities.

The practical side of the CIO

The chief information officer (CIO) O'Brien and Marakas (2011) observed: "Oversees all use of information technology in many companies and brings it into alignment with strategic business goals." That is what the traditional role of the CIO has been until a couple of decades ago. His or her sole responsibility was to ensuring that computer services, Internet, networking within, and other information systems are up-to-date, and they are allowing the organization in cutting on its production and/or business operational costs. That is, the traditional role of the CIO was not to direct the daily information services responsibilities, he or she will have to execute the tasks delegate to him or her by the executives, such as the chief executive officer (CEO) or the chief financial officer (CFO). In other word, the traditional role of the CIO was to help the executive and the organization as a whole meet their business IT objectives.

Furthermore, the practical side of the CIO can be better understood by referring to what traditionally CIOs were hired to do within organizations. It was couple decades ago practical for business executives to hire CIOs when there were urgent needs for the organization to reorganize to the information systems (IS) in order to expressly define new rules and policies on how IS are produced and distributed company-wide. This practical side of the role of CIOs as seen and

adopted by organizations was used as a tool for easing and achieve the alignment of the IS cell with the broader organizational goals.

That is, within the practical prism or option, CIOs were or are likely to be hired because the organization was or is growing and expanding, and executives realized the imperative for their business processes to be revisited, updated and/or upgrade. This option that has helped chief executive officers (CEOs) make IT business cases to their board of directors, as they recognized that hiring a CIO is not only for implementing new systems but more importantly to managing the difficult part of all IT projects: cultural and change management (Eiras, 2009).

The CIO position merged with another executive position

In the context of this ultra-competitive business environment, organizations expect from their IT the delivery of solutions that will enable them for achieving their goals of having and preserving their competitive advantage. For that happening, IT would have to be managed in a way that will align with the business; the goals of IT and the rest of the enterprise must be compatible and mutually supporting. As business strategy and IT are increasingly and continuously converging, CIOs are finding themselves in environment where their traditional role tends to merge with another executive position, such as: chief financial

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