Tech council tackles security, financial issues

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By Marc Ferranti

(IDG) -- What keeps technology executives up at night? Cost control and disaster recovery are among the top items weighing on chief information officers (CIOs) and chief technology officers (CTOs), according to the Technology Leadership Council, a recently formed group of IT executives that will kick off its 2002 forum schedule March 5.

Alignment of IT with business strategy, and leadership on the part of IT executives, are more important than ever before in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks, plunging corporate revenue, and the Enron Corp. accounting scandal, according to the organizers of the council.

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The council, chartered as a peer-discussion forum for technology leaders, is being organized by the Hunter Management Group LLC (HMG), an IT business strategy consultancy based in Westport, Connecticut. Council members, and technology executives the world over, are under more pressure than ever before to ensure that IT delivers a competitive edge for their respective corporations, according to Hunter Muller, principal of HMG.

The council is being organized according to a quarterly forum format. In advance of its 2002 meeting schedule, the council has drawn up a list of issues it expects to discuss (for a complete list see http://www.hmgstrategy.com/). Tech executives who are not permanent members of the council can participate in individual meetings.

"CEOs and the CFOs are in a tough spot and that tough spot is that for the first time in a long time earnings growth is not clear," Muller said. "The CIO has to be focused on shareholder value." Technology executives are also expected to participate in corporate governance, as company finances come under increasing scrutiny after the collapse of Enron and recent reports of questionable accounting practices at various IT vendors and telecommunication companies.

"The responsibilities of the CIO now overlap with the responsibilities of the CFO (chief financial officer) and CEO (chief executive officer) -- in terms of vision and strategy to the market, and governance of IT spending ö creating a convergence of responsibility and accountability at the executive level," Muller said.

IT executives are expected to strip costs out of the technology infrastructure, but can only do this effectively and responsibly if they are integrated into the business executive team, Muller said. This is why IT executives are increasingly under pressure to adopt business leadership skills, he said. Industry analysts agree. "Senior executives at the CXO level, including technology executives, need to align with overall business," said Anna Danilenko, consulting services program manager at IDC, the market research arm of International Data Group Inc., parent company of the IDG News Service. For example, Danilenko said, "Initiatives need to be put in the context of the firm's overall business issues, challenges, goals, and capabilities."

At its March 5 meeting in Greenwich, Connecticut, council speakers and panelists will include keynote speaker Mark Polansky, managing director of the Advanced Technology Practice unit at Korn/Ferry International, who will address "Top Leadership Qualities of High Performing CIO's Today." Special guest panelists include Ron Rose, CIO of Priceline.com Inc., who will talk about disaster recovery and "high velocity management."

Other topics to be addressed during council meetings this year include: Security, business continuity and disaster recovery; Strategies to become a best practices/ high performing global organization; Ensuring IT delivers a competitive advantage; Enhancing the CIO/CXX executive relationships; Key qualities of a high performing CIO; Aligning the IT organization and business strategy; Leveraging human capital for enhanced productivity; Team building in a decentralized organization; Leadership performance and operating principles to build a high performing organization; Technology outsourcing selection; Technology implementation in a global environment.