Central Issues for IS Management

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The Balancing Act of a CIO

Never Time to Do it Right, Always Time to Do it Over

The challenge to the CIO is how to take the impossible and make it feasible within the constraints of time and resources within an IT Department

Typically, even a strong CIO cannot overcome a business-driven demand for a new software or platform for an organization

CIOs frequently are faced with unreasonable deadlines accompanying incredibly complex projects

Managing the Balance of Functionality and Security

Without data and network security, what safeguards does a company have of its most private and confidential business assets?

A CIO must be able to communicate the how and why security is necessary to systems and within a company's network as part of his/her role within an organization

Users want maximum functionality with minimum impediments to that functionality

But does this make sense?

Being Cost Conscious versus Cost Effective

Example: A web portal for the sales people to roll out to customers, or a much needed data classification system for the network administrators to better govern data security - how should a CIO prioritize these issues

While trying to balance business needs with cost conscious purchases, an IT Manager is forced to weigh what is necessary versus what is desired

The question becomes: Why should IT Be the party of no?

The cheapest possible solution

Executive Buy-In

Where this is not the case, a CIO is forced to answer to executives that may lack technical expertise or interest, and may view IT as a cost generator or hindrance to the organization

In organizations where the CIO is considered a true "C-Level" executive, buy-in has already been achieved

Whether an Operator, Laggard, Mechanic or or Advisor, a CIO without some level of Executive support is essentially an empty seat

Management of a Department AND a Company

Strains within the Information Technology Department will become a pervasive part of the work that is done by that department; as an operational unit of an organization, this can have a lasting effect on the way IT is perceived by other business units

Balancing the utilization of outsourcing as a tool for non-critical Information Technology development work versus the use of internal, full-time employees affects project scheduling, budget and administration of the IT Department

Resource allocation for the purpose of administration of the Information Technology Department affects the ability of IT professionals to participate in business-critical projects

Lack of User Knowledge about IT Capabilities

Criticism about resource availability at the IT level may in fact be a reflection of a lack of resource capabilities at the business unit level

Lack of proper communication leads to breakdowns between users and development as to software development needs

Subtopic

Unreasonable expectations accompanying demands for development from the IT Department