IT Restructuring: The Power to Change Is in the CIO’s Hands

Breakout Session
Date: April 28, 2011
Round Two: 11:00-12:30 a.m.

Panelists:

Francisco Carvajal (Moderator) Executive Director, Spain and Latin America, Communications Industry Accenture

Jens Erik Ebbesen Vice President, Enterprise Systems TeliaSonera

Phil Jordan Chief Information Officer Telefonica O2 UK

As businesses emerge from the recent economic downturn, companies are recalibrating their efforts to drive more value from IT. In the era of digital services, IT is being positioned as a partner to the business. CIOs are more relevant than ever, because it’s IT that create the differentiated (and differentiating capabilities) needed in the digital future.

Francisco Carvajal, Accenture, challenged 60 CIOs to use their power to position IT in a higher place in their companies. At the heart of the discussion were three key issues for an evolving IT organization (Accenture research shows that high performance organizations use IT as a competitive advantage):

• IT execution: High performers are eight times more likely to measure the benefits realized from IT initiatives
• IT agility: High performers have web-enabled 42 percent more of their customer interactions
• IT innovation: High performers spend 29 percent more annually on developing and implementing new applications rather than on maintaining existing ones

CIOs shared real-life examples about what they’re doing to improve the position of IT in their organizations. A number of ideas were discussed, including:

• That first and foremost, the CIO needs from his team certain qualities of performance: innovation, talent, flexibility and competitive spirit. Of particular importance is the ability to create and visualize.
• That IT is a "fantastic asset" and that telecommunication companies should use it more and better to promote their true purpose: service. His company’s customers can make international calls by dialing a local number.
• That the importance of a strong capability framework (for IT execution) and the right partner (for IT agility) needed to be stressed.

In summary, it’s the CIO’s time to stand as the backbone of their company’s future.


For more information:

• Mind the Gap: Insights from Accenture’s Third Global IT Performance Research Study

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