Seven roles of the CIO

1. 7 Roles of the CIO
Source: Society for Information Management
Saturday, May 2, 2009 1

2. Utility Provider
• CIOs oversee the building and sustaining
of robust, reliable and economical IT
infrastructure services. As businesses
expand globally, CIOs will direct the
addition of key utility services such as
help desk and the deployment of
communication, collaboration and
productivity tools.
Saturday, May 2, 2009 2

3. Information Steward
• CIOs lead the development of enterprise
architecture that defines the business’
information and data needs,
establishment of enterprise-wide
standards for information management
and use, and compliance efforts with key
regulatory and industry norms for the
integrity and privacy of information.
Saturday, May 2, 2009 3

4. Integrator
• CIOs lead enterprise efforts to digitize and
integrate processes, information and decision-
support so that the firm effectively leverages
enterprise information technologies such as
customer resource management and business
intelligence. In particular, CIOs oversee the
implementation of crucial program management
offices and portfolio management systems.
Saturday, May 2, 2009 4

5. Educator
• CIOs raise the awareness of their business
peers about the strategic role and
relevance of key information technologies
and help them become more “savvy” in
making strategic IT decisions. Savvy
business execs appreciate how IT can be
leveraged to drive business innovation
and are willing to adopt IT-enabled
business initiatives.
Saturday, May 2, 2009 5

6. Relationship Architect
• CIOs maintain relationships with top business leaders
inside the enterprise and externally with key IT service
providers. Both are critical for effective business
technology management. CIOs employ formal
mechanisms such as IT executive councils and business
process steering teams, as well as informal mechanisms
such as one-on-one relationships for nurturing
collaboration. CIOs also drive the development of sourcing
networks through vendor relationship management that is
critical, not just in leveraging external partners for cost-
effective IT applications development and services, but
also in gaining access to new IT skills and knowledge.
Saturday, May 2, 2009 6

7. Strategist
• CIOs actively serve as innovation
catalysts and work with their business
peers in discovering opportunities to
leverage IT in innovative business
models, customer relationships, and the
pursuit of agility.
Saturday, May 2, 2009 7

8. Leader
• CIOs lead, design and govern the IT
organization, ensuring that the IT
organization has the right staff, works
actively on developing human capital,
and inspires IT professionals to contribute
to the organization’s mission and achieve
their full potential.
Saturday, May 2, 2009 8

9. Roles
Source: Society for Information Management
Saturday, May 2, 2009 9