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

State of the CIO 2010: Business Strategists Gain Ground

This report analyzes the data of the 2010 State of the CIO survey to highlight the differences between the three fundamental types of CIOs--the Function Heads, Transformational Leaders and the Business Strategists.

Contribute your experience to the 8th annual Global Security Survey

CIO & CSO, in partnership with PricewaterhouseCoopers, are conducting our 8th annual Global Security Survey. Take the survey and enter our drawing for a new HP, Dell, or Lenovo Netbook and other great prizes. Survey respondents will also receive a copy of the survey summary report, a valuable tool in measuring security initiatives against peers and gaining insight into the current state of information security practices and challenges. Take the survey »

The Sustainability Responsibility - FREE Webcast March 26

Join Council member, Claudio Abreu, president and CEO, Bayer Corporation Business and Technology Services, as he explains why and how Bayer practices sustainability in every aspect of their day-to-day business from implementing international standards for reducing emissions to lowering energy use within the company, and holding all contractors and partners to a code of conduct across the supply chain.

More / Register »

Learn more about the CIO Executive Council »



 
 
RESOURCE CENTER
 
 
 

Peer To Peer - The Vanishing IT Department

The good news is, the CIO role is safe and will continue to thrive over the long term. The bad ...

 

June 01, 2004CIO

The good news is, the CIO role is safe and will continue to thrive over the long term.

The bad news is that at most companies, the information technology department that many of us knew and all of us aspired to have, is finished. In spite of what you might have heard, this is not a matter of available talent. Declining undergraduate enrollment in computer science and related fields is neither the cause nor the effect, but simply a convenient and utterly dopey excuse for this slow-motion train wreck. What is killing IT are lowered expectations, simplified missions and generously elastic notions of identity. One day soon you may wake up and find that just because your title says CIO and you’re running a department, it doesn’t mean you’re running an IT department.

Here’s what I mean. At the last CIO 100 conference, one of the speakers made reference to the paradox of the Ship of Theseus, a reflection on how much change something can tolerate and still maintain its identity. You’ll no doubt recall that Theseus was the guy who entered the labyrinth to slay the Minotaur. When he sailed back to Athens he received a hero’s welcome, and his ship became famous by association, sailing in parades long after he died as a tribute to his grand achievement. In between the parades, a crew would take the ship on a tour of the Mediterranean and as they sailed, the ship would need a few repairs. After many years of voyaging, every piece of the ship, every plank, and every bit of tackle and rope was replaced until not a single original piece remained. And still every year the crew sailed the ship in the annual parades as Theseus’s ship.

As it happens, the entire time the ship was sailing and making its repairs, a scavenger ship of exactly the same design, but in far worse shape, was following. As the Theseus crew members made repairs they would throw the old parts overboard, which the scavenger ship’s crew scooped up and used to replace their ship’s even older parts. Over the years, every piece of the scavenger ship, every plank, and every bit of tackle and rope was replaced with the discarded parts of Theseus’s ship. So, who has Theseus’s ship?

Bits and pieces of your department have already been thrown overboard. How many more before you don’t have an IT department anymore?

Know-Nothing IT

 
 
Loading...
 
WHITE PAPERS

Staffing for Intelligence

This technology brief explains how to get the best return on your analytics investment by seeking out a new combination of skill sets in your data professionals - and creating cross-functional liaison roles that bridge the gap between IT and business.
 

Deliver Fast Time to Value for Business and IT

This paper explores the challenges that organizations face in trying to deliver quick time-to-value for IT projects and achieve the status of 'agile enterprise'. It illustrates how IBM® WebSphere® ILOG Business Rule Management System (BRMS) can facilitate the alignment of IT with business and support the implementation of an agile decision service (ADS) to provide business value within months of project adoption.
 

Deal with Internal Resource Constraints

In this white paper, IT executives share their experiences with managed services as well as some best practices when working with a managed services provider.
 

The Transformative Power of Software Testing

This white paper describes how to achieve software test transformation in the enterprise.
 

A Matrixed Approach to Designing IT Governance

A simple one-page framework can help companies allocate IT decision rights and accountabilities so that individual IT decisions align with strategic objectives.
 

The Trouble With Enterprise Software

As ERP systems become increasingly comprehensive and complex, the costs and risks involved in changing them increase as well. In the end, they can become just another subset of the legacy systems they were supposed to replace.
 

WEBCASTS

Is Your Business Ready for the 21st Century?

What does the roadmap to modernization look like? What are the pragmatic first steps CIOs must take? Do they need t...
 

A Roadmap for IT Innovation

A Roadmap for IT Innovation
 

Forrester Webinar: The Changing Landscape of Structured Data in E-Discovery

What is structured data and why is it often overlooked in e-discovery? Presenters Brian Hill of Forrester and David...
 

IDC Webinar: The Myth and Promise of Search Technology for E-Discovery

Search technology can provide several benefits to the e-discovery process, including faster review and reduced over...
 

Strategic Planning: Can We Bridge The Gap Separating IT and Finance?

Strategic planning is critical for your success, yet new research shows it often falls short in even the best organ...
 

How Healthcare CIOs Achieve a High-Performance Emergency Department

The role of the healthcare CIO requires strategic, mission-critical decision making to drive performance within the...
 

CIO's Virtualization Newsletter

Receive virtualization news on the latest technologies and developments, expert opinions on managing your data center and practical case studies for your next implementation.

 
FEATURED SPONSORS
 
 
 
SPONSORED LINKS
 

An IT Leadership Action Plan for the Economic Recovery

Supercharge Your End Users with Desktop Virtualization

Best Practices to Reduce IT Operational Costs

Google Webinar: Why Cloud-Based Security and Archiving Make Sense

Midsized company CIOs and experts connect at infoBOOM!

Core" i5 vPro" Processor: Control meets cost savings in the most intelligent PC processors ever!

Article: The Dynamic Virtual Client offers thin client advantages with rich client user experience & mobility.

Simplifying Risk Management: Is Your Company Measuring Up?

Does your IDS really work? Find out with a free Endace Audit

Take the Netezza TwinFin TestDrive!

CA ARCserve r12.5 is More Than Backup! Download Trial Version Today

Enterprise search helps employees get more done. Get the facts from Google.

Trend Micro ranked #1 against real-world malware. Read more.

Turn your desk phone and mobile phone into one with Sprint Mobile Integration.

Maximizing efficiencies with unified communications.

Stay informed with custom newsletters from Tech Dispenser

Register for more Windows Enterprise Webcasts today.

Build a smart, practical path to the internal cloud.

Webcast: Solve Your Data Visualization Needs with Open Source BI

Consolidate data centers and lower IT service costs. Learn How.

WAN optimization techniques significantly improve application performance. Read More.

The Revolution and Evolution of Private Cloud Computing

What's New in SOA Suite 11g?

Unleash the Power of Java with Oracle JRockit Real Time

SOA Best Practices and Design Patterns

Counting Up the End User Benefits of Desktop Virtualization

How Healthcare CIOs Achieve a High-Performance Emergency Department

Let Progress Software help your business make progress.

HP pays back. Trade in your old printer and get up to $1000

Read report on how to improve decision making with business analytics.

Dynamic Virtual Client: Whats in store for client technology going forward?

The ISP that focuses exclusively on information security? SecureWorks.

Manage limitless content todayread EMCs 15-minute guide to ECM.

HP Exstream. Get a Free Document Assessment for Financial Services.

Verint Systems. Discover the Power of Intelligence in Action"

Webinar: Jump-start your in-house e-discovery with Ringtail QuickCull from FTI Technology

See why ShoreTel is named best overall VoIP provider by Nemertes Research

Real-world testing ranks Trend Micro #1 against malware. See results.

Efficiency goes up. Costs come down.

Dark Fiber from Sunesys Save on Unlimited Bandwidth with Fixed Costs.

Trend Micro ranked #1 against real-world malware. Read more.

Entrust IdentityGuard  Strong Authentication for your Enterprise

Selecting the Right Reporting Technology

Webcast: Delivering the Enterprise-Ready Cloud

Ensure cost effective application delivery. Learn More.

Cloud Computing: The Impact CIOs See

Enterprise Capture: Your Onramp to Business Process Automation

Unlocking the Mainframe: Modernizing Legacy System to SOA

State of the Data Integration Market

Enhance Customer Loyalty through Higher Responsiveness