Kristin R. MoyerDavid Furlonger. I was recently asked: “what is the role of IT in the market crisis?” The obvious reaction from many has been very tactical, and from a senior management perspective: lacking in sophisticated analysis.
Cut costs is a constantly repeated manta. A standard arbitrary number seems to be 10%. But seriously, what will this achieve.
CIOs worth their salt are likely to be able to achieve such a reduction through pretty standard measures such as lengthening refresh cycles, canceling pet projects, delaying projects, etc. But none of this will fundamentally change the game. A 10% reduction is not going to radically move the cost income ratio needle.
The brave CIOs are turning back to their CFOs and saying – “Why don’t we cut by 50%?” This is game changing!
Why isn’t this cutting their own throats? Because never before will the business be under so much pressure to substantiate projects, provide concrete and granular value statements, prioritize to the nth degree, account for changes in requirements and document functionality and specifications to a granular level.
This is to the CIO’s benefit. Such measures offer IT a chance to be more effective at delivering solutions that the business wants driving more quality in to the investment process. No longer will they be forced to juggle competing initiatives that are less than clearly articulated.
With the business being forced to radically rethink their investment criteria, this is a boon time for the visionary CIO. Rather than the conversation being all about cost, it now shifts to being all about value.
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Category: Uncategorized Tags: banking and investment services, cfo, cio, cost containment, financial crisis, IT as a percentage of revenue, market crisis
