Here are the top blog sites for directors determined to keep up-to-date on breaking tech-industry news, analysis, and snarky gossip - all of it 24/7 and all of it free.
Bonnie Azab Powell and Kara Platoni impressed bloggers with their list of 50 top women in tech, which ran in the March/April 2008 issue of
Corporate Board Member magazine.
Is “agility” just the latest buzzword to engulf the IT world, or is it something a CIO needs to take seriously in order to do his or her day-to-day job? Whether you call it “flexibility” or “agility”, the concept is crucial to the rapidly changing, revenue-focused enterprise of today. This article from Heidrick & Struggles outlines the keys to agility and ways to overcome roadblocks.
Experts say collaboration and communication are the critical tools for aligning IT and business. The biggest challenge, they say, is gauging which goals to align with and having a clear roadmap to track progress and assess results. The example in this article from RSM McGladrey may help you determine what alignment should look like within your organization and which steps you must take to get there.
For leaders who must make increasingly quick decisions in this rapidly changing arena, identification and management of risks, in addition to a full understanding of the business processes behind digital transformation, is critical to successful strategy execution. This publication from KPMG examines a framework that may be developed to provide a methodical way to help identify, assess, manage, and monitor the operational challenges and risks associated with executing a digital strategy.
The adage "out with the old and in with the new" best describes the new challenges facing CIOs globally. The bursting of the dotcom bubble has not only radically reshaped the IT industry, it has also dramatically transformed the role of CIOs. Heidrick & Struggles discusses how the new CIO has to be a trusted partner and ally of the CEO, deeply involved in shaping the strategic direction of the corporation.
Information technology (IT) projects are often a major source of contention in mid-sized organizations. Why? Because they are inherently risky, and many fail to deliver on stated business objectives. As a result, pressure is high for IT executives to deliver rock-solid strategies on smaller budgets and to maximize the rewards from every investment. This publication from RSM McGladrey highlights the steps for launching a successful IT project.
A new breed of C-level IT executive is emerging as the outsourcing industry continues to evolve. The new outsourcing “super exec” is ideally a blend of skilled negotiator, salesperson, and strategist. So who are these sourcing magicians who are capable of managing the new complexities? Heidrick & Struggles discusses the issue of whether all the necessary skills reside in one person.
Today, managing intellectual property (IP) is a major strategic concern. The risks of a poorly planned and executed IP strategy are clearly rising. How can companies continue to safeguard and capitalize on the intangibles that fuel their growth engines? Deloitte Research, a part of Deloitte Services LP, offers a report outlining an IP framework that can assist senior technology leaders in assessing their existing IP strategy.
Industry experts say that most businesses underestimate the time, change management, and contingency planning needed to
effectively implement a new software system. Clearly, there is a link between a software installation's size and complexity and the preparation time needed to do the job well. Consider the basic guidelines included in this article from RSM McGladrey for product evaluation and implementation.
Pressure for the federal government to protect the personal data and privacy of the American public is stronger than ever. A culture of protecting personal data is imperative. For such a culture to flourish, it must have strong support from the top. PricewaterhouseCoopers’ federal practice, along with the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), recently examined the federal government’s progress in implementing privacy programs.
Technology is now an integral part of most companies’ business strategy. The demand is growing for individuals who can contribute to the business strategy from a deep technology competency and in addition, guide and execute the IT strategy to achieve the business goals and mission. According to this article from Heidrick & Struggles, CTOs can be categorized into four general models.
For U.S. companies, information privacy compliance is fast becoming a significant business priority, and not just because data is more decentralized, distributed, and mobile than ever before. The meteoric rise of identity theft, coupled with highly-publicized security breach incidents, has spawned public outrage and customer demand for swift and corrective actions.
When it comes to fueling growth, few things can turbocharge a company’s prospects faster than the right information at the right time. Technology that corrals a higher level of business intelligence is increasingly available; however, experts say leaders of midsized companies should address the “why” before investing in the “how.” Define your company’s business intelligence needs and discover solutions through this article from RSM McGladrey.
This special supplement features the full results of the 2007 Board and Information Technology Strategies study conducted by
Corporate Board Member and Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu. The study surveyed directors at publicly traded companies with revenues of more than $1 billion and addressed their most pressing IT issues, such as how to become more involved in IT strategy, how to link such a strategy to their companies’ performance, and how to monitor and justify IT costs and return on investment.
