CIO’s Digital Agenda: Running IT as a Business Value Creator

IT value is multi-faceted, and IT value is in the eye of the beholder.

In most cases, the IT department isn't producing anything that is saleable to external end customers and, therefore, many in the organization will view IT as something that seems to ceaselessly suck up money with the little-perceived return. First and foremost a CIO needs to show that IT isn't just a cost center but is a deliverer of multidimensional business value, what’re the effective approaches to doing so, though?

Running IT as a Business Value Creator

• How to Transform IT from a Cost Center into a Value Creator: IT can become known as a revenue rainmaker by associating its efforts directly with sources of income. You are able to spot the opportunities to increase revenues. Looking for solutions which will directly benefit the external end customer will improve the competitive advantage and in-turn brings in increased revenue. Business people with revenue-enhancement projects often don't request IT projects to support them because they don't know what IT can do. You have to find these projects and then talk with the business managers responsible for them about what could be done.

• Three “V’s in Running a Digital IT: Digital transformation starts with mind shift, business value has to be driven, indicated and understood at all levels of the organization. This is accomplished by establishing strong interdependent relationships, the shared vision and wisdom, the frictionless business culture, the re-framed processes to bridge silo, and the optimal sets of business capabilities to delight customers. IT value is multi-faceted and it’s interesting to see how IT value is in the eye of the beholder.

• How can CIOs contribute to revenue generation: With the constant change in the capability of information and technology to serve the business, the CIO's role in an enterprise is evolving accordingly. CIO has to foresee, anticipate business needs for information and then prepare and gear up the information systems to not only make readily available pertinent information to top business decision makers but also preempt the need and present the business value.

• Three Aspects for IT to Be a Revenue Generator  It almost turns to be mainstream thought that IT needs to be the business’s growth engine and revenue generator, but how? What strategies are CIOs using to posture IT as a revenue-generating organization in organizations whose primary focus is not IT?

• CIO Debate: How can you Deliver IT Value without Budget? There’s an interesting brainstorming earlier in the CIO forum: “You just got tapped on the shoulder by the boss to spearhead a company-wide deployment of workforce/budget management solutions to every employee. There are no money and limited skills in IT. What do you do”? It spurs provocative discussions of the best scenario on how to handle such circumstances and deliver the best value if possible? Though the detailed solution may depend on the size and structure of the enterprise, try to find the pain point for the request and definitely it won’t hurt to take some logic steps.

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