IT managers told to boost growth

An article by Kevin Allisonin in today's Financial Times quotes Mark McDonald, vice-president of Gartner's executive programmes group, referring to a Gartner survey of 1,400 chief information officers , who says:"IT departments are moving from being providers of technical services to creators of business results." Is this news? More importantly, should this be news? The role of the IT department has, in most organizations, been recognized for years, if not decades, as being to provide leadership, and be responsive to business areas in providing IT capabilities to support the achievement of business goals. This role is not always executed well, nor is it always well recognized, but it is certainly not a new role.

Don't Outsource Program Management

A Computerworld article in which Bart Perkins stresses that organizations should not abdicate responsibility for program management..."As IT builds less and buys more, effective program management becomes increasingly critical to the success of your programs and ultimately to the success of your company. If you allow your outsourcer to also serve as your program manager, you lose your leverage and allow accountability for the program to drift outside your company. Augment your resources; don't abdicate your responsibility."

Not So Fast!

A Computerworld article by Mary Brandel stressing the need to look beyond completing projects to delivering real business value..."it's time for ROI to become as important to a project's closure as it is to its inception, whether you're closing the loop on the project's original intent or squeezing out extra value after implementation."