CIO Enterprise Newsletter
 
NEWSLETTERS
 

CIO.com updates, insights and advice on technology, management and your career.

 CIO BlackBerry News and Tips
 CIO Research and Analysis
 CIO Microsoft
 CIO Insider
 
 
 
LEADERSHIP
 
CIO Executive Programs
The Leader in Face-to-Face Education for Senior Executives

Offering regional and national programs, CIO (and CSO) events bring together some of the most respected names and thought leaders in information technology and security. Presented by CIOs and other senior level executives, these invitation-only programs offer timely topics and strong networking. Learn More »

 
CIO Executive Council
A Peer-Advisory Service and Professional Association for CIOs

Public Council Teleconference: Application Rationalization — Hidden Costs and Smart Decisions

November 17 at 11:00 am US/Eastern (GMT-5)

Join Honorio Padrón, of The Hackett Group, who will share the drivers for companies to tackle application rationalization and the results of research that define the hidden cost of complexity. Additionally, we will discuss key decision milestones—to start or not, holding the course steady and fulfilling expectations.

Virtual Desktop Cost-Benefit Analysis — Michael Jacobs, Catlin Group

The analysis contained in this presentation measures the cost of everything from the machines and licenses to the infrastructure for virtual vs. traditional desktop environments.

Honor your best senior team members - Apply for the CIO Ones to Watch Award

Get well-earned public recognition for your top up-and-coming team members, your IT organization and your enterprise. Award winners will be announced, publicized and feted in May 2010, great timing to help attract new IT recruits to your company.

More / Register »

Learn more about the CIO Executive Council »



 
 
RESOURCE CENTER
 
 
 
 

CIOs Can Steer Enterprise Investment Strategy

To maintain a competitive advantage, today’s business needs to invest in innovative technologies.

 

May 15, 2001CIO

Guy Battista smiles when he hears those recorded announcements saying, "Your call may be monitored for quality assurance." He’s been there, done that. Last September, the First Data Corp. (FDC) CIO went, as they say, "double-jack" with an operator, listening in to calls at an Irish call center 5,000 miles from FDC’s Atlanta headquarters. That kind of attention to detail is a regular part of Battista’s evaluation process when FDC, a $5.5 billion financial services company whose subsidiaries include Western Union and TeleCheck, is thinking about investing in a company. n In this case, FDC was looking to invest in Fexco, a Killorglin, County Kerry-based customer service outsourcer.

(If you dial the toll-free number on the back of a can of Guinness, you’ll reach a Fexco call center.) FDC makes no secret of its desire to expand globally, and Fexco, which already works in Europe with Western Union, seemed like a logical way for the American company to plant its flag on the continent.

But before investing, Battista needed to make certain that Fexco was what FDC wanted. He wasn’t satisfied simply meeting the Fexco suits or bench testing their software; he wanted to watch the apps in action and see how the service representatives treated customers. He came away impressed. The software worked; the operators were polite and efficient. Battista and his team gave the deal the thumbs up. And in December 2000, FDC took a 25 percent equity stake in Fexco.

Battista, an 11-year veteran of FDC and CIO since 1997, didn’t set out in life to be an investment adviser or a venture capitalist, but his business and technical skills have played a crucial role in FDC’s enterprise investment strategy. "Today," says Battista, "I had three different conference calls on three different companies [targets for acquisition, targets for investment]. And tomorrow I’m meeting with our president to go over them."

THE CIO AS VENTURE CAPITALIST

This same scenario is playing out in boardrooms and corner offices all over the country as businesses turn to their CIOs, leveraging their technical skills and business knowledge, to help guide their investments in emerging technologies. Companies see investments as a way to gain a competitive, early-mover advantage. And given the rapid rate of technological innovation that advantage is more critical than ever before.

"What we’re talking about," says Nancy Koehn, a business historian at Harvard Business School, "is not just a chance to be on the new playing field, but a chance to help set the rules. We are talking about a chance to help set the standards. And that is extremely important." As a result, predicts Koehn, no company will prosper without looking outside its walls. Without, in other words, corporate venturing.

 
 
Loading...
 
WHITE PAPERS

Service Level Reporting and Communication

Service level reporting is the most visible output and often the most time-consuming activity in SLM.
 

Informatica Platform and Integration Competency Centers

Forrester used its total economic impact methodology to interview seven companies that have standardized their data integration practices.
 

Cutting the Cost of Enterprise Databases

This IDC white paper discusses the growing complexity of datacenter management, which is causing escalating costs.
 

The CIO Calls the Shots

Learn how a selective sourcing model can deliver services in a flexible, efficient manner.
 

Infrastructures for Innovation

Read this exclusive research report from Qwest Communications and CIO on advanced communications infrastructures and their role in your organization's success.
 

An Alternative Database Approach

Learn how a column-oriented DBMS works, why it has superior performance, reduced data access latency and a reduced storage footprint.
 

WEBCASTS

IT Consolidation Made Easy

The Primary IT Initiative for Reducing Costs
 

Taking a Seat at the Executive Table: The Reality of Virtualization

This year, for the first time, the number of virtual machines is on track to exceed the number of physical machines...
 

Who Are the Data Center Leaders?

Today's data center is still very much a heterogeneous environment. Gabriel Consulting recently surveyed over 250 d...
 

SharePoint - Unchecked growth of content is unsustainable - now what?

Recent research has confirmed that it has become critical for IT leaders to reclaim authority over the SharePoint c...
 

Unleashing the Power of Customer Data

To hear how companies use feedback from their clients to develop business strategy, watch our video.
 

Does Your Network Let Customers Drive Your Business?

It's no secret that customers exert greater influence over business decisions than at any time in history. But for ...
 

Resource Alerts

Get instant email notifications by topic when white papers, webcasts, and case studies are added to our library.

 
FEATURED SPONSORS
 
 
 
SPONSORED LINKS
 

Webcast: Unleashing the Power of Customer Data

Disciplined Autonomy: Resolving the Tension Between Flexibility and Control

Enterprise Capture: Your Onramp to Business Process Automation

Cloud Computing--What is its Potential Value for Your Company?

Seven Design Requirements for Web 2.0 Threat Protection

How Consumerization of IT Will Make Your Business More Productive

How does a software company save big with Green IT?

Translate business strategy into IT strategy and obtain maximum benefits.

eBook: How Can You Make Your People Productive Anywhere?

Mind the Talent Gap: Global Survey on IT and HR trends and challenges

"Enterprise-Proven" is the Prerequisite for Enterprise SaaS Portal Solutions

Join us at the US-Brazil IT-BPO Summit, on November 10th in New York.

Unified Communications: Thoughts, Strategies and Predictions. Join the discussion

Read the RSA report: Security for Business Innovation

Webcast: Looking to the Cloud for Email and Collaboration Services

64-page prescriptive guide to security, compliance, and IT operations.

Keep your IT expertise up to date. Join the Intel Premier IT Professionals.

A new fleet of PCs with a total ROI in 10 months. Find your ROI.

eZine: A Roadmap to Reducing IT Complexity

Reduce risk, gain agility. See how Progress can help your business.

Virtualization Technology as a Business Solution

eZine: A Roadmap to Reducing IT Complexity

World-class trading technology solutions from NYSE Technologies.

If You're Paying for Telecom, You're Paying Too Much. Contact Asentinel Today.

Trade-In your old printer and save up to $1,000 plus free recycling!

Learn How Web Site Performance Impacts Shopper Behavior

Build a Foundation for Unified Communications

Removing the Barriers to IT Governance: How On-Demand Software Changes the Game

Should Your Email Live In The Cloud? A Comparative Cost Analysis

Learn about the growing threat of insider data theft.

Adobe® LiveCycle® solutions for business process automation

10 Ways Excel Drives More Value from Your SAP Investment

The Key to Proving and Improving the Value of IT to the Company

Unleash the Power of Java with Oracle JRockit Real Time

Taking the Service Desk to the Next Level

See how AT&T can help protect your network.

Top Five CIO Challenges

Streamline IT Costs. Boost Performance with WAN Optimization.

Want to know how you can maximize employee productivity?

Build your 1st app FREE with Force.com

TDWI checklist helps define data readiness for analytics. Download report.

Increase UPS efficiency without sacrificing protection.

A Clear View Toward Virtualization

Virtualization Technology as a Business Solution

The rules of infrastructure management just changed.

A Clear View Toward Virtualization

Interactive Q&A helps you discover key ways to maximize IT assets.

Ready to virtualize tier one applications? Check your virtualization maturity.

Think you can't afford a Cisco Switch? Cisco Catalyst Switches are now more affordable.

Five minute business analytics assessment. Immediate results.