Shell Oil CIO Jay Crotts says market knowledge is necessary for successful global IT What are the essential success strategies for global CIOs?As a CIO in the global environment, my biggest challenge is to understand the dynamics of how my company operates in each country. Acquiring an understanding of how market maturity affects business strategy helps me develop an IT strategy that supports local markets while enhancing them with the global resources, processes and efficiencies at our disposal. Your direct reports are your frontline players in attaining this understanding. They are closer to the business units than you are, and are therefore closer to the people who are actually facing the markets. Your job as CIO is to encourage them to have daily contact, and teach them how to relay that knowledge back to you in a way that will inform the IT strategy. Beyond the obvious cultural differences, when you and your team are determining solutions for the widely varying markets across the globe, you must resist the temptation to assume that one size fits all. When faced with a country you’ve been directed to get into the global stream, the biggest mistake you can make is to hope that the solution or process you spent time and resources perfecting for a mature market will work in a less-mature one. When extending your company’s presence around the world, there must be a balance between global synergies and necessary customization. Sometimes you have to start with point solutions, such as a spreadsheet that will serve for the time being, which may seem like taking a step backwards. But that is just a first step to bringing them fully up to speed with global business processes. Back at headquarters, having an IT strategy that is tied into the business strategy—and that matches IT performance metrics to business KPIs—is more important than ever. Global projects introduce complexity, which heightens the chance of failure. Don’t use IT as leverage for driving new processes without commitment from the business to changing those old processes. If you find at any point that the business needs and processes are not aligned with what IT is doing, stop the program. That seems drastic and likely to get you into trouble with other executives, because no one likes the person who says no. But I’ve found that if you present why you’re stopping, and lay out how continuing without alignment will harm the company, you gain credibility and support for fixing the problem and getting the project moving again. Jay Crotts is CIO and VP of IT Services for Shell Oil Co., and a member of the CIO Executive Council. Related content opinion The Importance of Identity Management in Security By Charles Pelton Nov 28, 2023 5 mins Cybercrime Artificial Intelligence Data Management brandpost Sponsored by Rocket Software Why data virtualization is critical for business success Data is your most valuable resource—but only if you can access it fast enough to address present challenges. Data virtualization is the key. By Milan Shetti, CEO of Rocket Software Nov 28, 2023 4 mins Digital Transformation brandpost Sponsored by Rocket Software The hybrid approach: Get the best of both mainframe and cloud Cloud computing and modernization often go hand in hand, but that doesn’t mean the mainframe should be left behind. A hybrid approach offers the most value, enabling businesses to get the best of both worlds. By Milan Shetti, CEO Rocket Software Nov 28, 2023 4 mins Digital Transformation brandpost Sponsored by Rimini Street Dear Oracle Cloud…I need my own space Access results from a recent Rimini Street survey about why enterprises are rethinking their Oracle relationship and cloud strategy. By Tanya O'Hara Nov 28, 2023 5 mins 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