Three CIOs discuss the wholesale transformation of their IT departments into respected business partners, in this free report prepared by the CIO Executive Council. “We were an organization of ‘no’ and we had to transform to an organization of ‘how,’” said Robert Fecteau, CIO of government contractor SAIC, describing his effort to turn the IT department into a partner trusted by other parts of the business. Fecteau and other CIOs offered their insights during a recent CIO Executive Council (CEC) webcast discussion about IT transformation. Niel Nickolaisen, CTO of O.C. Tanner, an employee recognition firm, described his IT overhaul in similar terms. Previously, “the culture inside of IT was rather toxic. It was driven by micromanagement. People needed permission to do anything. As you can imagine, the relationship between IT and the rest of the organization wasn’t very good. IT had pretty low credibility. We were really order-takers.” How do you turn that around? “We established early on two goals. One was short term: Never apologize for our technology again. In the long term: Deliver technology that amazes everyone that sees it,” Nickolaisen says. For more highlights from the CEC webcast, download this free report summarizing the discussion. “We were an organization of ‘no’ and we had to transform to an organization of ‘how,’” said Robert Fecteau, CIO of government contractor SAIC, describing his effort to turn the IT department into a partner trusted by other parts of the business. Fecteau and other CIOs offered their insights during a recent CIO Executive Council (CEC) webcast discussion about IT transformation. Niel Nickolaisen, CTO of O.C. Tanner, an employee recognition firm, described his IT overhaul in similar terms. Previously, “the culture inside of IT was rather toxic. It was driven by micromanagement. People needed permission to do anything. As you can imagine, the relationship between IT and the rest of the organization wasn’t very good. IT had pretty low credibility. We were really order-takers.” How do you turn that around? “We established early on two goals. One was short term: Never apologize for our technology again. In the long term: Deliver technology that amazes everyone that sees it,” Nickolaisen says. For more highlights from the CEC webcast, download this free report summarizing the discussion. download CIO Transformation Stories: IT Leaders Discuss Technology and Business Transformation CIO Executive Council Related content Feature 10 cloud mistakes that can sink your business Just a single mistake can send your cloud strategy plummeting to earth. Here’s a rundown of how not to approach the cloud. By John Edwards Mar 21, 2023 8 mins IT Strategy Cloud Computing Case Study Arvest Bank reskills IT to support its banking core refresh When introducing new software, allow ample time for staff retraining, says transformation lead Laura Merling. By Peter Sayer Mar 21, 2023 6 mins Employee Experience Business Process Management Cloud Management News Accenture acquires Flutura to boost industrial AI services Bengaluru-based Flutura offers internet-of-things (IoT) and data science services to manufacturers and other asset-intensive enterprises. By Anirban Ghoshal Mar 20, 2023 2 mins IoT Platforms Internet of Things Artificial Intelligence News Amazon to lay off 9,000 more workers, including some at AWS The latest round of Amazon layoffs will impact AWS, Twitch, advertising and PXT, CEO Andy Jassy said. By Jon Gold Mar 20, 2023 3 mins Technology Industry Cloud Computing Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe