1. Chapter 3
The Chief
Everything Officer
Should businesses and the CIO
embrace the Chief Everything Officer?
Or are the job requirements better
suited to a number of individuals within
the C-Suite? Which option is better
for delivering business innovation,
competitive advantage and value?
Arguably, this is something that can
only be decided on a case by case
basis. What has worked for one
organisation may not work for another.
Even so there are a number of factors
that must be kept in mind no matter
the organisation in order to prevent
pitfalls.
Preventing “Two Speed IT”
Traditionally the CIO is in charge
of building and maintaining the IT
infrastructure. There is a perception
that the CIO “keeps the lights on”
as it were. However, with the advent
of disruptive technology the IT
department once again has that
chance to become a real differentiator
for the business, driving competitive
advantage through technology
adoption.
The question is whether or not
responsibility for this new tech should
fall under the CIO’s remit, another
member of the C-Suite or a new
Executive employee entirely. There
are arguments that due to lower
technology expertise requirements
of SMAC technologies, as they are
often hosted or managed by third
party suppliers, that the department
that uses that new technology
should manage it. For example,
data collection, analysis and insight
is heavily used by the marketing
department in many businesses, so
some argue that the decisions relating
to this technology should be up to the
marketing department rather than IT.
This can create a challenge for IT as
the interplay between third party IT
and on premise systems could create
a security issue, thereby creating an
opposing argument that it should
remain within the remit of the IT
department.
This still poses the question on
whether or not a new Executive
employee should be hired to handle
new technology areas. The issue is
splitting traditional IT and disruptive
IT between job functions can create
conflict between the two technology
officers. If the CIO’s role changes little,
and the rate of IT commoditisation
continues at the same pace, gradually
more and more IT will be available
through outsourcing or hosting in the
cloud. This will essentially erode the
CIO’s position. Similarly, the individual
responsible for new technology is in
a better position to offer technology
driven differentiators to the business,
thereby positioning themselves more
advantageously and directly related to
business outcomes.
This split can create tension. It may be
more agreeable for new technologies
to become the CIOs responsibility,
helping them to delivering new
initiatives directly from the IT
department.
Innovation
Technology

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Technology to Services
A second fundamental and recognised
shift is the move away from a
technology focus to a services focus.
As mentioned previously, what is
defined as a core competency for IT is
changing and the IT department and
the wider business is regularly asking
what can be outsourced or moved
to the cloud to save costs, increase
value, and benefit the overall business.
The conversation has opened up a
huge opportunity as the IT department
becomes less insular and focuses
more and more on the business as
a whole, making it a key part of its
success.
With this in mind, greater management
skills are required in order to navigate
the labyrinth of suppliers and in-
house teams that now make up the “IT
department”. This requires high levels
of evaluation and analysis to ensure
that whatever combination is adopted
levels of reliability, security and perfor-
mance remain consistent. As Cynthia
Stoddard, NetApp CIO says, “As CIOs,
we now have an entirely different land-
scape and industry to navigate. For
example SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS allow
an unprecedented choice of applica-
tions, reduced reliance on legacy
systems, and the opportunity to build
solutions ourselves without having
to focus on the underlying platform;
they also give immediate expansion
capabilities as our needs grow. And
all that means costs can shift with
needs, updates are consistent, the
staff is focused on the business of the
business, we’re more agile, and we
are able to demonstrate new services
and technologies…But…you have to
embrace the movement: Get on board
or be left behind.”
The Chief Everything Officer
Should the CIO become the Chief
Everything Officer? There are a num-
ber of merits to this, but before this
can happen an evaluation does need
to take place of what the business
really wants from IT and technol-
ogy. Some of the roles described
previously may not be required at all,
while others could really add value.
The best way to do this is start with
a blank slate, identifying what, in an
ideal world, could benefit the busi-
ness. What could be outsourced?
What could be cloud hosted? Could
data analysis be a key differentiator?
These are all questions that need to be
asked.
The CIO and the wider IT department
are in a position of great opportunity.
By embracing new responsibilities and
investigating the latest IT and technol-
ogy revolutions the IT department can
evolve to be real drivers of innovation
and value to the wider business.
About NetApp
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deliver outstanding cost efficiency and
scale to meet changing needs. Discover
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