The transformation journey: Why CIOs take it on

Renai LeMay
Thursday, 25 November 2010 13:00

IT People - People

feature Anyone who works in the technology sector is familiar with the concept of change. New developments arise in every year '” and sometimes every month '” that have the potential to challenge all of our assertions about the way technology is used to support our professional and personal lives.

It could be something as simple as the introduction of the Apple iPad. Or it could be something as profound as cloud computing.

Like any other IT professional, chief information officers daily face the challenge of keeping up with change. But there is one difference between the CIO and the average IT profession: Higher level managers are also responsible for managing the risk associated with the introduction of new technologies into their business.

When it comes to large projects that will transform the fundamental way their organisation does business, that change is magnified exponentially. And so much can go wrong: The IT sector is littered with disaster stories, from Custom's Integrated Cargo System Christmas nightmare to ongoing telco billing problems and even the Queensland Health payroll debacle.

So what motivates executives to take such projects by the horns and put their career on the line, when they could have much less stressful lives?

When Australia Post CIO Wayne Saunders joined the organisation in March 2006, things were, he told Gartner's Symposium conference in Sydney last week, 'not good' at the Australian warhorse. For starters, the group had been without a CIO for three years and things had gotten '¦ messy.