CIONET Magazine 14 by CIONET

Digital growth CIONET Magazine, Summer 2013

Sharing and Caring Contents CIO CITY 4 Creating greater business value through IT-enabled leadership European CIO of the Year 2013 Awards: learning from Europe’s most accomplished business leaders.

6 Profitably embracing disruption De Persgroep countered disruption thanks to the ICT team’s expertise and commitment to the business.

7 Aligning ICT with strategic vision Yara International’s ICT department was transformed into a strategic asset for the company.

8 Delivering results to millions The London Olympics Committee developed effective ICT systems around incomplete and dynamic requirements.

9 IT investments are more profitable The European Research Paper of the Year 2013 provides strong empirical evidence for the importance of IT investments.

10 Building CEO-CIO partnerships for digital growth Solving the IT attention deficit at an organisation’s C-level will result in generating more business value.

11 The CIO agenda for harnessing digital disruption CIOs have to accelerate their own digital disruption to deal with exponentially increasing competition.

In a world where IT has become the nervous system of business and society, we believe that ClOs and their teams are the new heroes that drive change and innovation in their organisations. That’s why we have built CIONET, the leading European community of IT leaders. It is our mission to provide CIONET members and partners with the best

12 Ode to simplification and IT strategic leaders The ability of the IT leader to strategise is a key differentiator in simplifying his old digital world and embracing the right digital disruptions.

EVENTS 14 When IT reshapes business Financial services companies need to completely rethink their IT strategy to redefine their business.

16 CIONET ITALIA AWARD 2013 CIONET Italy celebrated successful CIOs for being the interpreters of IT change and transformation.

18 Sharing best practices Exchanging experiences helps CIONET Germany members identify opportunities and get new ideas.

20 Alignment starts with understanding of the business Business-IT Alignment should go beyond the local level.

22 Think big, start small, scale fast! Business case for mobile apps: stakeholder involvement is the key.

THE NEXT CIO 24 CEO-CIO partnerships in the digital disruption era The CIO position has to evolve from being technology driven to becoming a CEO partner.

28 The changing role of the CIO Today’s CIO is an entrepreneur, playing a key role in the organisation.

possible platform to help them to succeed and make the world a better place. We do this by understanding the ClOs’ needs and by fostering their development and growth. We believe that community and collaboration are the heart of the organisations and society of the future. We are driven by the passion and ambition of our members.

30 Lessons from the fast lane Global collaboration and technology use of Formula 1 teams can provide best practice lessons for CIOs.

32 The CIO as an excuse? Are managers hiding behind their CIO to avoid taking responsibility?

34 Becoming a business savvy CIO The CIO is more convincing as a business partner than as a technology guru.

36 Beyond bits and bytes National Trust CIO Sarah Flannigan is drawing on her business background to transform technology.

CIO VISION 38 The ‘I’ in IT Information management should be dealt with as a domain in its own right.

40 Transformation through Lean IT Lean IT brings a structured approach for an ongoing transformation of the IT department.

42 Embrace the digital disruption CIOs must start a different kind of conversation with the business.

44 When the CIO meets the CMO A close alliance between the CIO and the CMO allows the definition of a strategy of Digital Marketing.

46 The CIO role in organisational strategy development Business architecture as a key framework for strategic alignment.

Digital growth It was a pleasure meeting so many of our members and partners at CIO CITY this year. The third edition of our international conference focused on how strong CEO-CIO partnerships foster digital growth. The successful CIOs of today play a key role in the organisation’s performance. Their main challenge is to change company mindsets and to create more business value through innovation. At CIO CITY we presented the CIONET pledge to EU Commission VP Neelie Kroes to support the Commission’s Grand Coalition for Digital Jobs. Our ‘10.000 hours of passion for IT’ project will connect our members to local schools and universities in order to share passion for IT with the potential future workforce. Congratulations to the 2013 European CIO of the Year award winners Luc Verbist (De Persgroep), Bassim Haj, (Yara International) and Gerry Pennell, OBE (London Olympics Committee). They are prime examples of digital leaders who make their organisations successful by using IT in the most effective ways. We also congratulate the 2013 European Research Paper of the Year award winner, Dr Jie Mein Goh (IE Business School, Madrid), and the runner-up, Dr Wolfgang Ketter (Erasmus University, Rotterdam). Their papers embody excellence in rigor and relevance of research. Are you interested in exploring business in China? Then we invite European CIOs to join us in our Business in China Exploration Trips. We will study doing business in China, examine local outsourcing possibilities and build business relationships. Contact me for more information.

Hendrik Deckers Founder and managing partner CIONET International

Recently our community crossed the milestone of 4,000 members across 10 European countries. I would like to thank all our members and partners for their commitment. ‘Sharing and caring’ is more than ever our motto. May the force be with you!

European CIO of the Year 2013 Awards: learning from Europe’s most accomplished business leaders.

Creating greater business value through IT-enabled leadership CIONET Pledge

10,000 HOURS OF PASSION FOR IT CIONET aims to connect CIONET members and their staff to local schools and universities and to have them share their passion for IT. Join this call for action on: www.cionet.com/pledge

The interactive workshop was led by (from l. to r.) Pieter Schoehuijs (CIO of Akzo Nobel), Axel Bülow (Senior VicePresident, Head of Application Services & acting CIO of SAP), Marcello Cordioli (Group CIO of Permasteelisa) and Nils Olaya Fonstad (Associate Director, INSEAD eLab).

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At CIO CITY 2013, the workshop ‘Creating Greater Business Value: Learning from Europe’s Most Accomplished Business Leaders’ focused on how to create significant business value with ICT. The workshop was followed by the European CIO of the Year Awards, honouring the CIOs and their teams who have clearly achieved this goal. The interactive workshop drew on the collective intelligence of past European CIO of the Year Award winners along with current finalists. These CIOs have an impressive trackrecord of collaborating with the rest of the senior management team to create value for their business. As their accomplishments indicate, both past winners and current candidates are very comfortable and capable of helping non-IT business leaders become digital leaders. The European CIO of the Year Awards celebrate those CIOs and their teams who have most clearly helped create business value in one of the following ways: • creating and sustaining a digital platform that supports the organisation’s operating model, • enhancing business operations, • or supporting new ways of collaborating with internal and external stakeholders to develop and

generate revenue from new products and services. A committee of experts from CIONET and INSEAD eLab, including past winners, selected three winners from a field of 18 prominent finalists, identified by the country offices of the CIONET network. The jury identified three types of IT-enabled leaders, based on how CIOs spend their time: the Technology Driven CIO, the Business Process Driven CIO and the Client Driven CIO. Selection criteria included examining how well CIOs adjusted their IT strategy to meet business needs, how successful they were in deploying ICT and related teams to meet business requirements and to effectively manage business priorities. The final three winners were selected on the basis of their own and their team’s accomplishments.

The critical success factor is how well organisations manage and use information and communication technologies.

“Look inside most successful organisations today - no matter what sector - and, increasingly, you will find the critical success factor is how well they manage and use information and communication technologies,” said Theos Evgeniou, Academic Director of INSEAD eLab. Nils Olaya Fonstad, Associate Director of INSEAD eLab added: “To be innovative and competitive in today’s global digital economy, organisations have little choice but to invest in ICT. However, without the proper skills and leadership to put these technologies to effective use, firms are at significant risk of wasting their investments and missing key opportunities for growth and competitiveness.”

‘Without the proper skills and leadership, firms are at significant risk of wasting their investments.’ Passion for IT At the award ceremony Neelie Kroes, Vice-President of the European Commission and European Digital Agenda Commissioner, referred to the CIONET Pledge to connect CIONET members and their staff to local schools and universities and to have

them share their passion for IT. The pledge was presented in response to the European Commission’s call to join the Grand Coalition for Digital Jobs, a multi-stakeholder partnership addressing the ICT skills gap in the EU. “I particularly like your pledge because it involves passion. Most people aren’t always rational. They react more to intuition, emotion and passion. So go out there and share your personal experience! Make the image of ICT more human to those still at school. And you can really make a difference”, she said. Neelie Kroes’ second topic was about the need for a strong European telecom sector with fast and secure broadband connections. “Many businesses, in every sector, are enjoying the EU single market boost. We must bring the single market boost to the telecom sector too.”

The 2013 IT-Enabled Leadership Report. INSEAD and CIONET released the results of an in-depth European business survey in ‘The 2013 IT-Enabled Leadership Report. Essentials for Digital Success’. In addition to the survey data, the report includes in-depth interviews with each of the 18 finalists of the 2013 European CIO of the Year Awards.

Read the full survey report on iPad in the ‘CIONET+’ app.

www.europeancio2013.com

Read Neelie Kroes’ full speech in the CIONET Magazine 14 iPad version (in the ‘CIONET+’ app).

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De Persgroep countered disruption thanks to the ICT team’s expertise and commitment to the rest of the business.

Profitably embracing disruption Media Company De Persgroep has had to cope with the disruptive effects of digital technologies in its sector but it ended well as the group fostered several predominantly online media entities which are now market leaders.

Luc Verbist European CIO of the Year 2013 - Technology Driven At CIO CITY 2013, Luc Verbist was awarded European CIO of the Year 2013 in the Technology Driven category. EC VicePresident Neelie Kroes stated: “The media sector is looking for new business models, so you’ll have to be a role model.” Luc Verbist replied: “Media companies are indeed facing huge challenges, so I consider this as the beginning, not the end of my work.”

Read more in the CIONET Magazine 14 iPad version (in the ‘CIONET+’ app).

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Today, as one of the largest Benelux media companies, De Persgroep owns a variety of businesses like newspapers, magazines and websites, as well as television and radio stations. A critical factor for the successful transition to digital technologies was the ICT department, led by Luc Verbist who joined De Persgroep as CIO 15 years ago. The team took advantage of the euro introduction and the Millennium bug. To prepare for these events, Verbist set about to reengineer the application portfolio and architecture, and to create a solid digitised platform for future growth. In doing so, his department became the internal experts in business-process reengineering. Luc Verbist: “We have defined a user interface standard for internal applications similar to a web-based experience. This enabled us to develop news and information websites when the web initiatives were launched. The ICT team also was an early adopter of mobility and today we are extending the functionality of our web-based self-service platforms.”

In 2009, De Persgroep acquired the Dutch newspaper group PCM, which consisted of 21 companies and employed about twice as many FTEs as De Persgroep. At that time PCM’s entire ICT department was outsourced. Verbist completely changed this approach. The ICT team gradually put all the ICT responsibilities under the internal PCM roof. It also standardised all processes and applications at PCM. In the end, they integrated the two companies into a single operational firm. “The ICT Group orchestrated the entire integration process, consisting of 65 projects lasting three to nine months each. All projects except for two were delivered on time and within budget, with some falling below budget. We profitably embraced disruption saving €20 million per year on ICT costs.” The team’s ability to identify synergies across business units is an important source of business value. Luc Verbist: “This is the result of the team’s expertise and commitment to the rest of the business.”

Yara International’s ICT department was transformed into a strategic asset for the company.

Aligning ICT with strategic vision When Bassim Haj became CIO of Yara International, the ICT department didn’t have a good reputation. But Haj and his team successfully aligned ICT with the company’s strategic vision and improved business processes. Yara International is a global and diversified agro-chemical company with headquarters in Norway. As a world market leader Yara offers a comprehensive range of fertilisers, starting from single nutrient fertilisers up to complex compounds and micronutrients for crops. In 2008 a new process-oriented CEO joined Yara. Two years later, he hired Haj as CIO. Haj immediately launched a full assessment of the ICT area to ensure it was aligned with the company’s strategic vision. The initiative involved key stakeholders from the organisation and a core team from the ICT department. In his first year Haj also improved ICT’s service levels, primarily by renegotiating contracts with service providers and moving from a single to several providers. With such changes Yara saved almost €19 million per year. “External providers can provide better ICT services than Yara in most areas. However, our internal ICT Group can provide significant value in business process management, including putting the right processes in place, setting the

right key performance indicators, and establishing the right governance.” One of the key processes Haj and his team improved was Purchase-toPay. It currently involves around €9 billion worth of procurements annually. In a period of less than nine months, 1.5 equivalent FTEs from ICT worked together with the procurement specialists helping to create visibility across Yara’s multiple business units and identifying synergies. With a more accurate view on the landscape, Yara’s procurement team reduced the number of suppliers, negotiated better rates and prioritised their time on the categories that made the most sense. Nowadays Haj and his team are developing a scenario to reduce interim integration measures from six months to four weeks. This is critical for Yara’s future as the company announced it will grow the business by 50% percent - mostly through acquisitions and new plants.

Bassim Haj European CIO of the Year 2013 - Business Process Driven Bassim Haj earned the European CIO of the Year 2013 award in the Business Process Driven category. European Commission Vice-President Neelie Kroes commented: “By saving almost €19 million per year on ICT costs, Bassim Haj proved that the real value of ICT comes from the brilliant data it generates.” Haj stressed: “Without my team I would be nothing.”

Read more in the CIONET Magazine 14 iPad version (in the ‘CIONET+’ app).

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The London Olympics Committee developed effective ICT systems around incomplete and dynamic requirements by a non-negotiable deadline.

Delivering results to millions In 2012 the London Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games hosted more than 15,000 athletes spanning all Olympic and six Paralympic sports across 28 venues. Millions around the world viewed the Games from a variety of news outlets and devices.

Gerry Pennell European CIO of the Year 2013 - Client Driven Gerry Pennell was awarded European CIO of the Year 2013 in the Client Driven category. At the ceremony, European Commission Vice-President Neelie Kroes said: “You assured millions to stay in touch with the most digitally connected event ever.” Gerry Pennel replied: “Thanks are due to the passion and commitment of the team who really made it happen.”

Read more in the CIONET Magazine 14 iPad version (in the ‘CIONET+’ app).

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Being a temporary organisation, the Olympic Games are evolving significantly during their lifecycle of several years. A critical success factor for any CIO of such an event is to adapt accordingly. During the four years Gerry Pennell served as CIO, he had to build his team and adapt it to the evolving demands. From scratch, he built a large team that was first responsible for developing and integrating the technology and then providing excellent client service. By the peak of the Games, the ICT department had expanded to 400 paid staff, together with 2,500 supplier staff and 3,000 volunteers. There was another fundamental challenge: the set of requirements to which they were developing the systems was incomplete at the start of the development process and would change as more stakeholder groups joined the process. To develop robust and effective ICT systems around incomplete and dynamic requirements by a non-negotiable deadline, the team developed an ‘approximate and

agile style of delivery’ focusing on the key fundamental requirements and accepting changes throughout the process. Testing was another critical success factor. Gerry Pennell: “During the last year and a half, over half of the ICT resources were invested in testing. We took three complementary approaches. First of all, we set up a large purpose-built testing lab where we could simulate all the sports. We also tested the ICT systems in 42 live environments, such as qualifications events. Finally, we invested in ‘technology rehearsals’ simulating events where things go wrong.” The range of activities that Pennell and his team accomplished is impressive. The results were even more impressive. During the Olympics, there were no inaccurate or late results published to key client groups; no major technology failures; no successful cyberattacks or over-load and no formal complaints were received.

European Research Paper of the Year 2013 provides strong empirical evidence for the importance of IT investments.

IT investments are more profitable The European Research Paper of the Year Award, organised by CIONET and the Benelux Chapter of AIS, identifies the European research paper that embodies excellence in rigour and relevance of research. The winning paper by Dr Jie Mein Goh and co-authors provides an extensive analysis of the impact of IT investments on sales and profitability, which is higher than that of other discretionary investments, such as advertising and R&D. The findings suggest that companies achieve higher profitability through IT-enabled revenue growth than through IT-enabled cost reduction. The jury selected this paper because it provides strong empirical evidence and excellent underpinning of the financial strengths of IT investments. Silvia Leal Martin, Director of Executive Masters in IT Management and Digital Innovation at the IE Business School, comments: “This paper shows that investing in ICT is more profitable than investing in R&D or marketing. This should be on top of the agenda and organisations should refocus their investment strategies.”

statistical patterns, that have clear qualitative interpretations. The paper explains how these models can be used to predict full price distributions and price trends. Dr Wolfgang Ketter explains: “We use the software agents to identify the current economic regime and predict all future regimes. The market can be in an oversupply regime, a scarcity regime, or a balanced regime. Based on these regimes we can predict price distributions. A decision maker can use these price distributions to predict the probability of a price the customer is prepared to pay under a certain regime.” The paper shows how economic regime models can be used to inform both short-term pricing decisions and long-term resource allocation decisions. Results show that the method outperforms more traditional shortand long-term predictive modeling approaches.

Dr Jie Mein Goh, IE Business School, Madrid, Spain. Paper title: “Information Technology and Firm Profitability: Mechanisms and Empirical Evidence”. Co-authors: Sunil Mithas (University of Maryland), Ali Tafti (University of Illinois) and Indranil Bardhan (University of Texas). Dr Wolfgang Ketter, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Paper title: “Real-Time Tactical and Strategic Sales Management for Intelligent Agents Guided by Economic Regimes”. Co-Authors: John Collins, Maria Gini, Alok Gupta and Paul Schrater (University of Minnesota).

Predictive intelligent agents The runner-up paper by Dr Wolfgang Ketter and co-authors describes statistical models, integrated in intelligent software agents, that address product pricing and inventory resource utilisation in real time. The models characterise economic regimes, market conditions, in the form of recurrent

www.erpoty.com

Read more in the CIONET Magazine 14 iPad version (in the ‘CIONET+’ app).

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Solving the IT attention deficit at an organisation’s C-level will result in generating more business value.

Building CEO-CIO partnerships for digital growth To increase the awareness of the value that IT can bring, the CIO should promote the right kind of conversations. C-level conversations about IT should not be about technology but about the business capabilities that IT can enable and shape and the opportunities for growth that it provides. Even CIOs who are strategic in their orientation may have to deal with a lot of ambiguity about the role. This can lead to a gap between how the CIO sees his role and the expectations that his colleagues have of him (most CIOs are male). Asking C-suite executives what a CIO does is likely to result in as many different responses as there are members. The dilemma CIOs face is that they run one of the most pervasive and critical functions, yet must constantly prove its value; are hired to act strategically but forced to spend most time on operational issues; and the many successes can go un-noticed while the few mistakes are highly visible.

Environment for success How can an organisation generate more value from IT? The bottom line is that the value does not come directly from the technology itself, but from the change that IT both shapes and enables and how information is used and exploited. But there is a

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clear IT attention deficit at the C-level of many organisations. As most CEOs don’t feel comfortable with conversations about technology, they tend not to give it their attention outside of a focus on costs and schedules. Yet CEOs set the tone for IT and what it ultimately delivers to their business. The overall IT literacy of the senior management team is the most important enabler for a more successful environment. If the CIO and the rest of the management team can understand one another, then setting expectations is a lot easier. Key is having the right conversations and speaking their language, creating awareness of the value and opportunities IT can bring. For instance, don’t talk about how great the new mobile app is but about how it will increase sales and improve market shares. Don’t talk about the IT solution, as this gives the impression that IT alone will solve a business problem, but about the complementary business capabilities

that must also be developed. C-level conversations about IT should not be about technology. The ultimate goal has to be to have a shared vision and understanding between the CIO, CEO and the top management team. That is critical to creating and maintaining IT-business strategic alignment in the organisation and in optimising value from IT.

This article is based on the CIO CITY 2013 workshop ‘Building CEO-CIO partnerships for digital growth’, led by Professor Joe Peppard, European School of Management and Technology, Berlin, and Adjunct Professor at the University of South Australia.

Read more in the CIONET Magazine 14 iPad version (in the ‘CIONET+’ app).

CIOs have to accelerate their own digital disruption to deal with exponentially increasing competition.

The CIO agenda for harnessing digital disruption The only way to compete with digital disrupters is to adopt their methods. This demands a further shift from a CIO role of service provider to becoming the impetus of innovation. In the old days only a few competitors with huge amounts of money were able to create disruptive innovations. Think about the launch of CNN. Bringing live news reports 24 hours per day requires an enormous investment. But things have changed completely. In the digital age much more is possible at much lower costs. Your competitors will make a thousand digital improvements and a thousand new competitors will come after you with digital innovations. Why is the digital disruption happening now? Two major parties have entered the markets. On the one hand there are the platform creators producing mobile devices such as iPads, iPhones, tablets and smartphones. On the other hand we see the experience creators who launched apps and social media, such as Skype, Facebook and Twitter. Mobile devices and tools accelerate digital disruption and the younger the customers are, the faster their mindshift goes. The rapid pace at which new devices and apps are coming to the markets is resulting in exponentially increasing customer expectations. Digital

disrupters will respond to these expectations by rebuilding entire industries using free digital platforms and tools. They will provide better consumer experiences that create stronger customer relationships and bring it all faster to the markets.

‘A thousand new competitors will come after you.’

• identify silos and break down the boundaries between them; • compel senior executives to add their enthusiastic support; • insist on short development time frames; • bring partners and customers in the team to co-create. Finally, this new approach demands a further shift of the CIO’s role from being just a service provider to becoming the impetus of innovation. This article is based on the CIO CITY 2013 workshop ‘Harnessing Digital Disruption: The CIO Agenda’ that was led by Ellen Daley, Managing Director at Forrester Research.

New CIO agenda Is your company ready to tackle this revolution? And what should be on top of the CIO agenda to harness digital disruption? CIOs should initiate the conversation on disruption using the customer as common ground. They need to allocate money and talent to innovation projects. And they have to do it now. The competitors won’t wait. The most effective way to compete with the digital disrupters is to accelerate your own digital innovation by adopting their methods. There are five steps to accelerate innovation: • create small innovation teams focused on a single effort;

Read more in the CIONET Magazine 14 iPad version (in the ‘CIONET+’ app).

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The ability of the IT leader to strategise is a key differentiator in simplifying his old digital world and embracing the right digital disruptions.

Ode to simplification and IT strategic leaders The journey to IT simplification is rocky but very rewarding and important given all the disruptive technologies which await us. Harmoniously connecting the best of the old and the new digital worlds is the ultimate goal. Nowadays, all the IT conferences deal with the ‘new digital world’: big data, mobile, social network, cloud... However, when I am back in the office, the majority of my time is dedicated to the ‘old digital world’: ERP roll-out, risks and compliance, analytics, budgets, upgrades... Unfortunately, the ‘complexification’ of the old IT landscape is a vicious circle. More systems induce more interfaces and less upgrades and therefore more rigidity. Old rigid applications lead to new applications which are initially standalone, then later on, interfaced. And the vicious circle continues. The new digital world also is facing some challenges. First, there are the inflated expectations, remember the disruptive promises of RFID. Another challenge is the IT risk. With new technologies like cloud and mobile, addressing security starts to become an impossible mission. But the main challenge is that the new digital world relies on the solid foundation of the old one with accurate master data, simplified global processes, explicit risk and compliance approaches,

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up-to-date technologies, etc.

Less is more The question is not whether to invest in the old or in the new digital world. We need to invest in both. Paradoxically, the simplification of the current landscape is a pre-requisite to harvest the fruits of the new digital economy. That way ‘less is more’. We should simplify because the fragmentation of business processes partially reflects the silo mentality of an organisation and IT departments have a historical mission to drive the simplification of the business operating model by removing systems and barriers. The number of applications is the entropy of the IT landscape and we know that in physics entropy never decreases without energy. The managerial energy needed to simplify the complexe landscape is articulated around five tools: measurement, objectives, methods, funding and change management. With the right focus and energy, it is possible to simplify the IT landscape. Success, however, in the end, is

related to the strategic vision of the IT leader. This ability to strategise is a key differentiator. It’s because you are strategic that you will have started to simplify your old digital world, understanding that ‘less is more’. It is because you are strategic that you will understand the paradox of investing both in the old and the new digital worlds. It’s because you are strategic that you can navigate between wrong promises, inflated illusions and the right disruptions. This article is based on the CIO CITY 2013 keynote speech ‘Ode to simplification and IT strategic leaders’ by Daniel Lebeau, Group CIO at GlaxoSmithKline.

Read Daniel Lebeau’s full speech in the CIONET Magazine 14 iPad version (in the ‘CIONET+’ app).

Quint Learning helps organisations deal with the dynamics of change

Embedding change in the genes The current era is one in which change is the only constant for organisations. Little is permanent and virtually everything is subject to change. The ability to adapt to change quickly and effectively is a deciding factor for future success and should therefore be embedded in the genes of every organisation. IT dependence The increasing integration of IT into primary business processes means that organisations are becoming more and more dependent on IT. Due to the complexity of IT, this dependence is an obstacle to the swift implementation of innovations. On the other hand, IT is a driver of innovation and therefore of change. For many organisations, dealing with this dichotomy is a major issue. We have learned from experience that organisations can only resolve this dilemma with a well-considered strategy and the necessary leadership. Quint helps organisations to implement change sustainably and to embed it strategically. To this end, our focus is on effective management and the realisation of change initiatives. And, we take this further than systems, technology and best practices (Lean, ITIL, etc.). For Quint, the human factor is decisive and presents the greatest challenge… The human factor All around us we are hearing that change cannot be implemented due to legacy issues. Obviously, outdated systems are difficult to manage and update. But it is people who preserve legacies. Despite innovative technology, people’s old habits and self-interests have a slowing effect on real innovation and change. What is needed to get people to jump in at the deep end and let go of old habits? At a minimum, trust and the security are required to enable learning. It is therefore important to create a shared vision of the importance of change and how to achieve it at every level of the organisation. The ultimate goal is to generate a passion for change and the continuous pursuit of improvement. Behaviour and new knowledge as catalysts for change What kind of behaviour and knowledge are required? To illustrate: most people

Quint Learning makes a high-impact contribution to this process! Our primary goal is to realise the desired, new situation. We map out the knowledge and competencies required in the new situation and we determine the size of the gap between the current and desired situation. On the basis of this information, we draw up a complete and pragmatic training plan based either on an open roster or on a customised in-company training programme. These programmes are aimed at employees at every level of the organisation, from C-level to people in operations. In brief, we provide a training programme that covers strategy, tactics and operations.

are afraid of receiving feedback about their performance. In this regard they have little faith in the perception of their environment. This is one of the obstacles to change. It is therefore essential to create a safe environment to experiment with new behaviour and for employees to learn how to support and strengthen one another. The competencies that are developed in this process include the ability to provide feedback and different styles of dealing with conflicts of interests. Moreover, the individual’s own role and self-confidence are bolstered by expert based knowledge. This combination leads to both the mastery of skills and to organisational change.

From the top to the bottom, all employees need to embrace change

In the genes Our starting point is practice not theory. The trainers are all experienced Quint consultants. Under the motto “Dare to Challenge”, Quint staff are deployed at our clients as organisational change agents. During the programme, they practise how to effect change with the participants. Between programme sessions, participants then apply this in their daily work and evaluate the results in the next programme session. This guarantees that the practices learned become embedded throughout the entire organisation so that, after a time, employees do not – due to resistance to change – fall back into their old ways. Change thus becomes embedded in the genes of the organisation. For more info or contact Mireille van Kol MSc Manager Quint Learning m.van.kol@quintgroup.com www.quintgroup.com

Quint Learning operates internationally and is able to roll out training programmes for multinationals across the globe. Quint Learning offers a complete portfolio that includes programmes focusing on Strategy, Leadership, Advisory Skills, Lean IT, Lean Six Sigma, Agile, Change Management, Programme & Project Management, IT Service Management, Sourcing & Governance, Architecture & Innovation, Information Security and Technology.

In times of change, financial services companies need to completely rethink their IT strategy in order to redefine their business.

When information technology reshapes business On 23 May 2013, CIONET Luxembourg and ITnation jointly presented the CIO of the Year 2013 award to Eric Lippert, in recognition of his achievements as the IT Director of Lombard International Assurance S.A., Luxembourg’s leading life assurance company. In less than a year, his teams totally redesigned Lombard’s IT infrastructure so that it could fully support the company’s ambitious Strategic Development Plan launched in June 2012. In times of change, companies need to completely rethink their IT strategy if they want to meet their objectives. This is particularly true for financial services companies. Changing their IT is a way to redefine their business. They not only wish to improve their processes, but also plan for the future.

Eric Lippert, IT Director of Lombard International Assurance S.A.: “We now have a more scalable IT system that can help us drive our strategy forward.”

This is also the way Lombard saw it. Lombard, part of the International Division of the Friends Life group (UK), is a leading life assurance company with sales capabilities spread across 11 markets and total assets under administration in excess of €23 billion. The company pioneered ‘privatbancassurance’ solutions that use life assurance as a sophisticated wealth structuring tool. A year ago, Lombard announced a major self-financed investment of €30 million and reconfiguration of its operations. The Strategic Development Plan was designed to position Lombard to achieve its three

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main goals: quality and relevance of solutions to partners and their clients; excellence in servicing and operations; and building deep, preferred-status relationships with private banking and wealth management distribution partners. A number of service delivery areas within Lombard have been reconfigured with the objective of enhancing Lombard’s service offering. In addition to Solvency II regulatory preparations, the Plan involved substantial investment in improving selected operations and introducing system changes and new technology.

Looking for a new solution The challenges Lombard faced stemmed from the fact that the company had accumulated various investment fund management and accounting technology systems throughout its growth period, in particular over the last decade. Lombard started looking for a new solution that would be more

The company has gone from 176 distinct interface flows to just 35. integrated and scalable, simpler and more user-friendly. “A few years ago we realised that we were supported by a complex software architecture, which had been built to address the needs of the time”, says Eric Lippert, IT Director of Lombard. “Eventually we reached a point when we had about fifteen separate solutions - either packages we had acquired or specific developments - leading to more than 176 interfaces. Even though this configuration and each of its components worked well, the result was high maintenance costs.” This complexity was de facto a source of new operational risk and created stability issues for the platform. “The chemistry was no longer there”, says Eric Lippert. “Now, we have gone from 176 distinct interface flows to just 35. Less than a fifth of what we had before.” Bernard Denis, Director and Head of Fund Accounting at Lombard, adds: “We now have a more scalable IT system that can help us drive our strategy forward.” The successful implementation of the new platform was celebrated at the beginning of July 2013.

recognises his considerable contribution to implementing the technology changes linked to Lombard’s Strategic Development Plan announced in 2012.

‘The former complexity was a source of new operational risk and created stability issues for the platform.’ “This is a fantastic achievement, reflecting Eric’s hard work and commitment to the delivery of our strategic development initiatives”, Lombard CEO Matt Moran said. “It is also a testament to the progress being made by the broader Lombard team in achieving our three main goals: quality and relevance of our solutions to partners and their clients; excellence in servicing and operations; and building deep, preferred status relationships with our private banking and wealth management distribution partners.”

Eric Lippert named CIO of the year 2013 The 6th edition of the Golden-i Gala & Awards, saw Eric Lippert, IT Director at Lombard, named Chief Information Officer of the year. The award

Read more in the CIONET Magazine 14 iPad version (in the ‘CIONET+’ app).

The 6th edition of the Golden-i Gala & Awards, saw Eric Lippert named Luxembourg’s Chief Information Officer of the year.

Luxembourg, a digital country Minister for Communications and Media and Minister of Finance, Luc Frieden, also attended the Golden-i Gala on 23 May 2013. Addressing the attendees, he declared his dedication to see IT play as important a role as finance in the Luxembourg economy. He congratulated the IT companies present in Luxembourg for their success, but also acknowledged upcoming challenges, such as how to attract and retain tomorrow’s talents. Neil Ward, VP & General Manager of Skype, a Microsoft company based in Luxembourg, and Nils Winkler, CEO of Yapital (Otto Group) demonstrated and illustrated the quality of the Luxembourg platform to support digitalised business.

CIONET Luxembourg EVENTS

CIONET Italy celebrated successful CIOs for being the interpreters of IT change and transformation within their companies.

CIONET ITALIA AWARD 2013 The CIONET ITALIA AWARD is the most prestigious award in Italy that sustains the leadership and the innovative contribution of CIOs who have led strategic projects for the business of their organisations. The aim of this initiative, organised and promoted by CIONET Italy, is to praise CIOs who distinguish themselves for their effective IT governance in designing and implementing projects able to drive their companies toward change. The Award, at its second edition this year, has been successful in many respects: the higher number of submissions - 50 in total, the importance of the projects received, and the precious and valuable collaboration of the CIONET ITALIA AWARD 2013 jury composed of nine opinion leaders with an academic or entrepreneurial background. The projects submitted online have been assessed taking into consideration parameters like the achievement of competitive advantages for the company, the establishment of profitable relationships with customers and stakeholders, the speed in facing critical situations linked to privacy and security aspects. The mentioned criteria have been pivotal in the identification of the award categories ‘Strategy Driven’, ‘Client Driven’ and ‘Technology Driven’.

EVENTS CIONET Italy

The panel of the award has not had an easy task so we take this opportunity to express our gratitude to: Teresa Alvaro, Agenzia delle Dogane; Enzo Bertolini, Ferrero Group; Emanuele Binaghi, Geodis Wilson Italy; Leonardo Luca Etro, SDA Bocconi; Alfredo Gatti, CIONET Italy; Daniele Lago, Lago Spa; Mauro Pezzè, University of Milano-Bicocca and the Università della Svizzera italiana; Carlo Privitera, Luxottica Retail North America; and Matteo Veneziani, Expo 2015. The three award winners have climbed onto the highest step of the podium for being the interpreters of the IT change and transformation within their companies. With flying colours they have passed the selection phases started last January with an online application made by 50 CIOs of whom only 19 have taken the first selection step. The selection has proceeded with the identification of seven finalists among which the three CIOs winners have been chosen. Guido Albertini, Central Director of Information Systems and Digital Agenda at the city of Milan, was awarded in the category ‘Technology

Driven CIO’. The project he has led refers to the set-up of the public Wi-Fi network in Milan made up of an extended network of Wi-Fi hotspots with a high transmission capacity to reach the peripheral areas in order to reduce the urban digital divide. “I would like to thank the administration of Comune di Milano for its support to this project which is part of the Mayor Digital Agenda. I hope that this project can contribute to make Milan a more liveable city for its citizens, not just a more attractive place for tourists”, commented Guido Albertini.

Guido Albertini

Paolo Ballabene, IT Director at TNT Global Express, was elected as winner in the ‘Client Driven CIO’ category. His project was about the realisation of self service applications in order to streamline customer service operations resulting in a 15% cost reduction and an increase of customer satisfaction. “The rapid evolution of technologies, the spread of mobile devices and new communication channels, such as social media, are profoundly changing the concept of customer care. It is a revolution that I have to support and anticipate as IT Director”, stated Paolo Ballabene. Daniele Panigati, Informatics and Logistics Director at Roche, was the winner in the category ‘Strategy Driven CIO’ for having realised the ‘Innovative Sales Force’ project that allows pharmaceutical representatives to adopt the iPad as a single device with the advantage of being supported in the informative phase with doctors, and use the waiting time in a productive way. Daniele Panigati commented on his result “By the end of 2012 the sales force at Roche Italy has been using a mobile device as single device for all its activities including the digital marketing ones. It has been a difficult but innovative project, and I would like to thank the jury for this.”

“My thanks go to CIOs who have submitted their projects for the CIONET ITALIA AWARD 2013. The jury has chosen three CIOs who, with their business cases and outstanding stories, stood out from the crowd for the added value they brought to their companies”, asserts Alfredo Gatti, Managing Director of CIONET Italy and Managing Partner of NEXTVALUE. “The evaluations have respected the objectives that were set at the launch of the contest. These objectives were: the assessment of the innovation status quo in Italy, time and resources dedicated to a number of activities such as the deployment of new technologies, the support of business processes, and customer care”.

Paolo Ballabene Daniele Panigati

The award ceremony was held in Milan on 15 April 2013 during the CIONET Italy annual event ‘CIO meets CMO’ in the presence of 47 CIOs who have applauded their peers. The CIONET ITALIA AWARD initiative, conceived to give prominence to CIOs who create value within their organisations in Italy - as the claim of the award suggests, arrived at its third edition. It will be launched again in January 2014.

Read more in the CIONET Magazine 14 iPad version (in the ‘CIONET+’ app).

CIONET Italy EVENTS

Exchanging experiences helps CIONET Germany members identify opportunities and get new ideas.

Sharing best practices to achieve business objectives Trusted peer exchange is probably the most important reason for executives to join vertical communities such as CIONET. Since its launch, CIONET Germany has started to roll out a number of networking events and roundtables to enable its local members to connect and to share best practices.

2013 ECOTY finalist Thomas Henkel (m.), CIO of Amer Sports Corporation, joined by the 2013 German ECOTY semifinalists Hans Pongratz (l.) and Gerald Scheuermann-Kettner (r.).

In January 2013, the German CIONET taskforce addressing the shortage of skilled ICT resources met for the first time. The meeting resulted in an evaluation and recommendations on what organisations can do to keep their current ICT staff and to attract skilled workers for job openings in their IT departments.

Changing CIO role

Dr Nils Fonstad, INSEAD eLab.

EVENTS CIONET Germany

Munich was the venue for the first German CIONET Networking Event on 20 March 2013. At this event the changing role of the CIO was discussed. Dr Nils Fonstad, Associate Director of INSEAD eLab, gave the audience insight into the findings of his latest research on how successful organisations from around the globe have leveraged ICT to achieve outstanding business results and how the increasingly strategic role of their IT leaders enabled these achievements. Pascal Matzke, VP and Research Director of Forrester Research, shared

an outlook of the disruptive challenges CIOs will face in the coming years. He also gave advice on how they should set up themselves as well as their organisations to be able to respond to these challenges lying ahead of them. Last but not least, Jürgen Renfer, CIO of the KUVB, gave his view of what lies ‘beyond the agenda of the CIO’. He challenged the attendees by asking them to compare their daily life as a CIO with the expectation of a more strategic and business enabling future role of the CIO. The event concluded with another highlight: the announcement of the finalists of the German national competition for the European CIO of the Year 2013 Award. All German CIOs were invited to apply for one of the finalist spots allocated to CIONET Germany. The German CIONET Jury then had the tough role of selecting the final five contenders of which the two finalists were chosen.

While coming from different environments, CIOs’ challenges are very often similar. Views behind the scenes In May 2013, CIONET Germany’s next stop was Frankfurt where CIONET members were graciously invited by Jürgen Beuttler, CIO of Deutsche Bahn Long Distance, to an inhouse demonstration on how ICT is used within his organisation. This look behind the scenes was extremely well received by the attendees and CIONET Germany agreed that it will initiate a series of similar visits to member organisations to enable peers to learn more about the individual application of ICT on the spot. After the guided tour, the group discussed ideas, best practices and quick wins about how to implement an IT strategy effectively.

CIO CITY 2013 CIO CITY 2013 on 3 and 4 June in Brussels did not only see two excellent German finalists competing with sixteen other high performing European CIOs for the Award of best European CIO. There also was a considerable German delegation of CIONET members who used this unique opportunity to network and share ideas with their European peers.

The business savvy CIO Finally, rounding up the activities for the first half of 2013, CIONET Germany hosted an exclusive CIO roundtable in Frankfurt. The members had an animated discussion with German CIOs about what it takes to

become a ‘business savvy CIO’. While coming from different environments and organisations, it soon became obvious that the challenges for the CIOs are very often similar and that learning from each other can help to recognise pitfalls and risks on time. Equally important, sharing experiences with peers helps the members identify opportunities and get new ideas about how they can help their organisations to achieve their business objectives.

‘The future CIO role will be more strategic and business enabling.’

Tobias Frydman, introducing the German finalists for the European CIO of the Year Award.

What’s up next? Gathering the positive feedback from the German events in the first half of 2013, CIONET Germany is now busy planning the activities for the remainder of 2013 and the beginning of 2014. As the organisation continues to increase its German membership, CIONET Germany looks forward to engage and meet many members of the German CIO Community in person at one of its networking activities.

2013 ECOTY finalist Markus Bentele, CIO and CKO of Rheinmetall AG.

Read more in the CIONET Magazine 14 iPad version (in the ‘CIONET+’ app).

CIONET Germany EVENTS

It is important to shift IT to the center of the business and BusinessIT Alignment should go beyond the local level.

Alignment starts with understanding of the business The language of aligning IT with the business is dangerously misleading, since it assumes an initial misalignment. The alignment starts with an understanding of the business itself. Since the value of IT lies in its ability to improve operational efficiency, IT should be an integral part of the business. The first networking event of CIONET Portugal, in partnership with Católica Lisbon Innovation Lab, focused on Business-IT Alignment. Given that different departments of a firm have different expectations regarding IT and thus diverse perceptions about the alignment of the business with IT, this event addressed exactly the perspectives from the CEO, CFO and CIO. The first keynote speaker was Nils Fonstad, Associate Director of INSEAD who pointed out the importance of shifting IT to the center of the business. In fact, according to Nils, alignment should go beyond the local level and he argued by presenting interesting examples of high performing firms that are achieving both local and global objectives. Nils was followed by António Menezes, CEO of SATA, an international airline based in the Azores, who stressed the concerns of the CEO in 2013 and implications on IT. “CXOs must ‘partner’ to support business processes”, defended José Botelho, CFO of French multinational Alstom.

EVENTS CIONET Portugal

To conclude, Rogério Henriques, CIO of Caixa Seguros, the largest Portuguese insurance group, discussed the changing role of the CIO and the interactions associated with the Board.

IT Simplification CIONET Portugal’s second event, in partnership with Nova School of Business and Economics, developed around IT Simplification which presents opportunities to reduce waste, create more efficient processes, optimise life cycle processes and foster a culture focused on incremental improvements. Jorge Jordão, President of the CIONET Portugal Advisory Board, opened the event and stressed the importance of IT Simplification within the present paradigm shift associated with economic challenges. The event developed around three speeches regarding case studies. The first case involved Caixa Seguros, by Teresa Rosas, IT Director. João Amaral, IT Director of Sonae, presented the case of web based work at Sonae, the largest retail

company in Portugal. To conclude, Eugénio Baptista, Vice President of Sogrupo (IS), shared his inspiring experience regarding a lean project at Caixa Geral de Depósitos, the largest state-owned bank in Portugal.

Team Portugal (from l. to r.: Bo Irik, Rui Serapicos) joined by Nils Fonstad at the Business-IT Alignment networking event.

Read more in the CIONET Magazine 14 iPad version (in the ‘CIONET+’ app).

Building a business case for mobile apps: strong stakeholder involvement is the key.

Think big, start small, scale fast! The development of mobile apps requires a strong stakeholder involvement enabling co-creation. Customer experience and user friendliness are the keys for successfully going mobile. Mobility is becoming increasingly important and that is also the case in the healthcare sector. Prof Rudi Van de Velde, CIO at the UZ Brussels hospital: “In the past we were strongly dependent on inefficient paper based workflows. Therefore we started the Mobile Convergence Device Project. This should result in increased productivity and optimised workflows, while reducing errors and waste.” The UZ Brussels deployed mobile devices and a wireless network infrastructure for use by test groups and conducted time studies for the evaluation of workflow productivity gains. R. Van de Velde: “The transformation to mobile working requires a clear understanding of the existing workflows and a strong stakeholder involvement.” Frank Hubloue, Head of IT at Belfius Bank also involved the stakeholders strongly: “Before and during the development of our mobile apps we checked the design and functionalities with real customers to find out if the app was satisfying in terms of look and feel and responsiveness. By using agile development, action can be taken during the process.”

EVENTS CIONET Belgium

Think big, start small When going mobile, the diversity of devices and applications is a fundamental issue. “You have to thoroughly examine which solution is the most adapted to the individual needs of every user. Moreover, the chosen solution should be simple to use by excluding irrelevant features, says R. Van de Velde. Belfius also started with simple easy to use apps: “In 2010 we designed our first hybrid smartphone apps (an iOS and an Android version) and a mobile website with a limited

Prof Rudi Van de Velde, CIO at UZ Brussels: “The transformation to mobile working requires a clear understanding of the existing workflows.”

number of features focusing strongly on the essence of direct banking because that’s what the users want”, F. Hubloue explains. Stéphane Rassart, CIO at insurance company Ethias, also opted for userfriendliness: “In February 2013 our ‘Auto 24/7’ app was launched. In case of a car accident the driver can create an accident report in six simple steps. The built-in GPS function automatically records the location and photos can be added. The app also integrates the official European Accident Statement, a map with certified repair partners and a phone icon connecting directly with the Ethias service desk.” Ethias opted to start its mobile journey with an iOS app as the security, performance, built-in functionalities, short time-to-market and relatively limited development cost linked to the Apple eco-system made it a primary candidate.

“Make the app simple to use by excluding irrelevant features.”

Mobile apps for public transport Mobile apps can generate extra revenu for public transportation companies. Pieter Van Ostaeyen, Enterprise Architect & Business Analyst at the Flemish bus and tram company De Lijn confirms: “International surveys show that between 5 and 25% of travellers are not being reached due to a lack of appropriate travel information. That is why real time travel information and communication have become our most important quality factors.” According to this philosophy De Lijn launched the strategic RISE program covering several travel information projects including an e-mail messaging service for incident alerts, a routeplanner for the websites and a number of mobile apps. “The mobile website and the iPhone app were launched in September 2011 and they were a big success. In March 2012, an Android app was made available. By the end of April the number of downloads already exceeded 134,000. Furthermore our routeplanner is also available on Google Transit and we see third parties launching apps for our services, e.g. for Blackberry”, explains P. Van Ostaeyen. “With all these solutions we provide our customers with real time travel information, incident alerts, personalised information and mobile availability. This is paying off as the websites and mobile apps have already lead to significant cost reduction for travel advice services.”

Scale fast Six weeks after its launch, the app was downloaded more than 3,200 times, updated over 2,100 times and received more than a dozen 5 star reviews. Those figures are quite high with respect to the target audience of 15,500 potential mobile app users. The next steps will be to extend the app’s functional coverage to increase ‘stickiness’, issue an Android app, integrate the apps with Ethias’ back-end system and include other insurance products. “The most important lesson we have learned during our journey is: think big, start small, scale fast”, says S. Rassart. In 2012 Belfius adapted its strategy from ‘mobile presence’ to ‘mobile best in class’. “This time we chose a maximum use of native features of the iOS and Android devices to increase simplicity and usability. Since December two full native banking apps are in the stores and it’s a success. Both get a 4.6/5 rating, the iPhone app was downloaded over 70,000 times and

Pieter Van Ostaeyen, Enterprise Architect & Business Analyst at De Lijn: “Real time travel information and communication have become our most important quality factors.”

the Android app over 50,000. The best news is that customers use the native apps twice as much as the hybrid apps”, explains F. Hubloue.

Challenges Despite all the good news, some challenges remain. “Consider your wireless network environment. How do you handle multiple devices including personal ones? And how do you create an environment that’s secure and robust enough to handle current and future demands?”, R. Van de Velde wonders. F. Hubloue adds: “Further fragmentation of mobile devices and technologies may cause more complexity and higher maintenance and development costs. Moreover, the accelerated mobile adoption by customers may lead to increasing requirements about security and scalability.”

Frank Hubloue, Head of IT at Belfius Bank: “By using agile development, action can be taken during the process.” Stéphane Rassart, CIO at Ethias: “We developped a mobile app to improve the mobile visitors’ experience.”

This article is based on the CIONET Belgium networking event ‘Building a Business Case for Mobile Apps’ of 23 April 2013.

CIONET Belgium EVENTS

The CIO position has to evolve from being technology driven to becoming a CEO partner.

CEO-CIO partnerships in the digital disruption era Close relationship and tight cooperation between the CEO and the CIO is an old topic, but in a business and social environment which is increasingly dependent on and dominated by technology, IT moves more into the center, determining in many cases the way of doing and innovating business. In this context, the CEO-CIO partnership becomes even more a key element in the search for sustainable competitive advantages in the era of digital disruption. We therefore present you a very interesting panel with the views and opinions of 4 top Spanish CIOs from a variety of sectors: Telecom (Telefónica), Banking (BBVA), Infrastructures (SABA Abertis) and Hotels & Resorts (Hoteles Catalonia).

CEO-CIO relationships What is your vison on the CEO-CIO relationship in terms of business strategy? Cristina Álvarez, CIO at Telefónica España: “I am very lucky to have a boss (the President and CEO of Telefónica Spain) with a very deep IT and technical understanding, because he is helping me a lot to make IT a clear enabler for a digital telco. I do not feel my CEO doesn’t understand me. Quite the contrary, he is always challenging me with new ideas and new opportunities to think about. On the other hand, he listens to my new proposals and ideas for transforming our company and its

THE NEXT CIO CIONET Spain

ways of working. He always says the IT team is a perfect X-ray of a company: IT people understand very well how the company works and they are familiar with the level of complexity, the flexibility, the agility, etc. We are the only team in Telefonica Spain with an end to end view of the processes and interactions between teams. Like most big companies we are a company managed by silos and departments, with a lot of manual procedures and many people involved every time we want to launch a product or change a process. My CEO is pushing the whole organisation very hard to work in a radically different way to launch products and services, working in a partnership model with marketing and the other business departments, to be extremely rapid and to go to market first. A good example of this change has been the Fusion product - our star offer for the residential market. It took 3 months to develop a product compared to 1 year in the old way. The secret? A strong CEO leadership, a challenging management style and good knowledge of

our capabilities to try to minimise the time needed for new developments. I consider IT and myself as real enablers for the strong transformation Telefónica Spain is working on, and the CEO support is a key element for success. Now we have to explain effectively how to get the best for the business, using our IT capabilities, and what new capabilities we can develop to improve and enable our new business models. Our aspiration is to use the services we are selling to our customers, because it makes a lot of sense and we have to lead by example.” José Olalla, former Global CIO, now Global Head of Multichannel Strategy, both at BBVA, also expresses his view on the CEO-CIO relationship in terms of business strategy: “The role of technology has evolved dramatically during the last decade from being just a ‘modern tool’ to becoming one of the key levers for business. It is now impossible to imagine any business leader who doesn’t consider technology as one of the main boosters of the business when formulating his or

Cristina Álvarez, CIO at Telefónica España: “I consider IT as a real enabler for the strong transformation our company is working on, and the CEO support is a key element for success.”

José Olalla, former Global CIO, now Global Head of Multichannel Strategy, both at BBVA: “The CIO has become the main reference for the CEO in areas such as innovation, new business models, internal relationship models and operational excellence.”

her strategy. In this sense, the CIO has emerged as the main reference for the CEO in areas such as innovation, new business models, internal relationship models and operational excellence.”

‘The IT team is a perfect X-ray of a company.’ Jose Antonio López Becerra, CTO/ CIO at SABA Abertis: “There was a time when technology was built by technologists. But our lives have changed. Telecom connectivity, internet, PDA, tablets, social media and ‘free’ software offer the end users a great amount of information, knowledge and the ability to communicate. And that’s great. Our customers are more intelligent, informed and skillful than ever. Now they have influence in definig technology and service standards. It isn’t enough anymore to offer a good product or service. It really has to be the best because if it isn’t, others will offer it. And what happens to the CIO? He needs to adapt himself to these profound changes. The entire organisation requires faster, more flexible and cheaper solutions. Of course, cost

Jose Antonio López Becerra, CTO/CIO at SABA Abertis: “The really big change is the ability of new technology to create new business models, and this is where the CEO and the whole organisation require the involvement of the CIO.”

control and back office automation still remain but new requirements come from customers to the board. Now the CEO needs a new kind of CIO. Someone who can contribute actively in business decisions based on the ability of marketing, sales and production to react quickly to each market change. If not, these departments will incorporate those skills and, finally, the CIO will be replaced. It is true that most ‘old’ organisations have put the CIO into the sphere of the CFO. It will take some time to change this. The market may accelerate this change. The CIO needs to be on the board, close to the CEO. His position has to evolve from technology driven to CEO partner.” Adolfo Sánchez, CIO at Hoteles Catalonia: “The relationship with the CEO should be very tight. To meet expectations, there should be a perfect match between the company strategy and objectives and the ICT strategic planning. Over recent years optimisation of human and financial resources has been driving this relationship to a new level, as any proposal needs to have a real impact on decreasing costs or increasing income. In the travel and accommodation

Adolfo Sánchez, CIO at Hoteles Catalonia: “It is vital that all business units assume the need to perfectly partner with IT, adding the required value and knowledge.”

sector, the online world has had a remarkable impact over recent years, forcing ICT and business in general to quickly adapt to market requirements, such as web 2.0, social network presence, on line reservation and mobile devices, leading for some destinations to over 50% of total bookings. As a consequence, our company has developed an ICT strategy plan which has changed the former decentralised relationship and supporting systems with travel agencies and tour operators to a new scheme, in which centralised processes and systems are required for the interaction with final customers. Projects such as the implementation of a central ERP system allowed our business to have unified

IT people are more familiar than others with the level of complexity, flexibility, agility, etc.

CIONET Spain THE NEXT CIO

There should be a perfect match between the company strategy and the ICT strategic planning. and real time data in terms of bookings, availability and pricing, resulting in the ability to sell right up to the last available room. In the relationship with all these channels, the ICT department has a key role, which would have not been possible without a very close relationship with the CEO and the rest of the management team.”

Business-CIO relationships Which position should the CIO and his IT department have in the organisation with respect to other company departments? Cristina Álvarez: “The IT team must communicate very proactively with other departments, because we have to explain to them how to improve our business, our products or our processes using our IT capabilities. We clearly need to set up a partnership model. For me it is not a question of who leads, it is more about how to engage all teams to reach Telefónica goals. We have the end to end vision and we can act as a binding agent to improve the way the company works in terms of efficiency and new business opportunities. It is not important whether IT is considered as a cost center or a business enabler. I think in IT we are responsible for both: we can only leverage new business and transformation if we are able to release resources of the legacy systems and be an efficiency example for the rest. I think we have to explain to the

THE NEXT CIO CIONET Spain

other departments what are the fixed costs in order to be sure we invest the rest according to the business needs. Again, I think the partnership model is the best way to enable innovation, growth and efficiency.” José Olalla continues with his vison on relationships between IT and other departments: “As a result of the increasing role that technology is playing in business success and the fact that more and more technology knowledge is spread over other organisation areas (sales, marketing, risks, etc.), the CIO has expanded his or her scope of influence and is considered at least as relevant as the head of business within the organisation. Additionally, the CIO’s skills are no longer technical only but much more comprehensive.” Jose A. López Becerra: “The really big change is the ability of all this new technology to create new business models, and this is where the CEO and the whole organisation require the involvement of the CIO. Someone who can help, propose, or even lead new ways of doing things. New profiles are required in the IT team, as well as in the development organisation. Today it is hard to do everything by ourselves. Think about project plans. Do we measure them in years, months or even weeks? How fast can you introduce a new sales channel into your software map? That´s why partnership becomes essential if we want to innovate, improve and adapt to all the changes that affect our organisations. This may appear to forecast a gloomy era for the CIO, but in my opinion it is just the opposite. The CIO has a great business background, dominates internal processes and knows where technology becomes critical in the organisation. So what is missing? The conviction of the opportunities of this new era and the courage in changing our organisational relationships.

Technology must drive change because technology is changing the world. Once organisations realise this, IT will start becoming more essential.” Adolfo Sánchez: “The CIO should be part of the management team. From this position he should be able to lead the transformation projects associated to the company strategy, gathering requirements from all departments and prioritising them together with the CEO, according to their weight to achieve the company’s strategic goals. In our case, sales and operational projects are critical, as time to market is key in order to achieve goals.

‘Customers have influence in defining technology.’ It is vital that all business units assume the need to perfectly partner with IT, adding the required value and knowledge, so that all business projects are successfully implemented. Ten years ago, the CIO had a less prominent position as the speed of change in ICT and customer adoption was much slower. You could almost joke that if your e-mails were delivered and your servers were running the mission was accomplished.”

Read more in the CIONET Magazine 14 iPad version (in the ‘CIONET+’ app).

Interview with Jorge Dinarés, President for International at Micro Focus

Jorge Dinares is President of International Sales at Micro Focus.

Agile development of enterprise applications for mobile is a priority for CIOs Jorge Dinarés is President for International (EMEA & LATAM) at Micro Focus, a top 10 European software group with global operations in 30 countries. The FTSE250 company serves more than 18,000 customers, including 91 of the Fortune Global 100 companies. Micro Focus provides innovative software that allows companies to develop, test, deploy, assess and modernise business-critical enterprise applications, enabling them to respond rapidly to market changes, such as the increasing impact of mobile technologies.

Why is eveloping enterprise applications for mobile a priority for CIOs?

What can CIOs do to ensure that their development teams are agile?

With the rise of IT consumerisation and the need to work outside of the company walls, there is huge demand for mobile apps. CIOs need to ensure their development teams are releasing higher quality mobile applications quickly to feed this demand.

Many development teams are building on existing apps to optimise them for the mobile platform. However, these apps operate on IT systems that often make it difficult, time intensive and costly to modernise apps. Specifically, 78% of CIOs said that having a mainframe makes developing or implementing mobile applications that work with their existing systems more difficult. These findings confirm there is a real need to bridge the worlds of mainframe and mobile to ease the challenges for mainframe organisations.

According to a global survey of 590 CIOs conducted by IT market research company Vanson Bourne and commissioned by Borland, a Micro Focus company, respondents predict a 50% increase in the number of business apps that need to be made accessible on mobile devices over the next three years.

What are the challenges faced by CIOs when developing these applications? According to the research, CIOs believe their mobile development teams, in house or outsourced, are struggling to deliver mobile business apps on time with 79% of them admitting it takes an average of five months to update their mobile apps to new versions of existing operating systems. It’s clear the mobile teams are playing catch-up to vendors who offer updates every two months. In fact, one third of the CIOs consider their mobile development team to be sluggish, middling or outpaced, showing a distinct lack of faith in their ability to develop and deliver against business requirements.

At Micro Focus, we meet customers every day, around the globe, who are struggling to preserve and protect significant established technology investments, while also harnessing the benefits of new IT trends, such as mobility or cloud computing. Effective strategies to bridge from ‘the old to the new’ in order to be more productive, minimise risk and save costs, lie at the heart of our customer relationships. IT leaders at successful organisations are those that can deliver competitive advantage by leveraging the latest innovation to maximise their investment in existing systems and applications.

Today’s CIO is an entrepreneur, playing a key role in the organisation’s business model.

The changing role of the CIO The successful CIO strikes the right balance between technical skills and business orientation. According to the keynote speakers during CIONET Belgium’s annual event in Brussels, the CIO’s main focus is changing from driving operational excellence to business transformation or strategic innovation. In the past, IT was often seen as a necessary evil, as the cost of doing business. Today, we all agree that the true value of IT lies within its role to be a vital component of the organisation’s business model. “This calls for a proactive CIO”, said professor Dries Van Nieuwenhuyse of EHSAL Management School. “There are so many elements that have an effect on the CIO’s role: the rise of new technology and trends, including Bring Your Own Device, as well as internal changes, such as managing and providing IT support for virtual teams. In this rapidly changing environment, the days of the traditional CIO – providing non-strategic support services – are over.” Gartner describes today’s CIO as an entrepreneur, playing a key role in the organisation’s business model. At the same time, the CFO and CHRO are eager to adopt a more proactive role as well. Van Nieuwenhuyse: “This only adds to the challenge, as the CIO needs to complement expertise in the domain of IT performance management with strategic, financial, business and analytical intelligence.” Pierre Gressier, CIO at 3 Suisses,

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explained how he successfully managed a company-wide IT and enterprise transformation programme. Well-known for its history in the mail order business, today about 70 per cent of 3 Suisses’s turnover comes from e-commerce. As the organisation’s new CIO, it was Pierre Gressier’s challenge to transform a heterogenous environment – 14 companies, all with their own IT staff, warehouses, call centers, and more – into one team. “We started reengineering the business processes”, he said. “We first talked about business, not IT. It wasn’t until later in the project that we looked into the opportunity of setting up shared IT services.” 3 Suisses made the clear choice to commit its own employees to the project. “We didn’t want this job to be done by external consultants. This was something we needed to do ourselves.” All in all, the IT transformation project consisted of the implementation of a service oriented architecture and a private cloud environment, hosted in a new data center, as well as migrating mainframe solutions to a new best-of-breed application suite, including several

ERP systems. “High-level sponsorship – from the CEO and the general managers – was essential to this transformation project”, concluded Pierre Gressier.

IT runs, grows and transforms business According to Pierre Cattoir, consultant at Egon Zehnder, the transformational role is only one of many possible choices to lead the way as CIO. “Depending on the organisation’s needs, the CIO can emphasise operational excellence or entrepreneurial and strategic innovation.” Comparing

The CIO needs to embrace change, be it as a visionary or an opportunist learning from other CIOs’ failures and successes.

Pierre Gressier, CIO at 3 Suisses, on the company’s IT and enterprise transformation: “We first talked about business, not IT.”

Frank Stockx, CIO at ING: “Technology is a key element on the agenda of the board. We need IT, not only to run the bank, but also to grow and transform it.”

Rudi Peeters, CIO at KBC: “Technology changes at a rapid pace. The CIO’s role is all about the survival of the fittest.”

CIOs to CEOs, Egon Zehnder discovered that – in general – CEOs have more market knowledge and customer focus. “To grow as a CIO, it is probably better to look at the CEO as a benchmark, rather than at a fellow CIO”, advised Pierre Cattoir. This makes sense as the CIO’s importance to the organisation’s board increases. “Banking is all about people and technology”, said Frank Stockx, CIO at ING. “Technology is a key element on the agenda of the board. We need IT, not only to run the bank, but also to grow and transform it.” In the context of the banking industry, IT security remains one of the CIO’s focal points. Frank Stockx: “Banking is based on trust. In everything we do to support and service our employees and our customers, we need to take security into account.”

and branches keeps changing, supporting collaboration is the next big challenge for IT.”

Not a geek

“The CIO’s role is all about the survival of the fittest”, added Rudi Peeters, CIO at KBC. “There is a constant evolution in the use of technology in the banking sector: from informative and transactional websites, to e-commerce and mobile apps. As the network of offices

According to Rudi Peeters, it is up to the CIO to embrace and support change, not necessarily as a visionary, but at least as an opportunist - learning from other CIOs’ failures and successes. “The CIO needs to look at efficiency differently, taking a broad, end-to-end view into account, instead of optimising one application or one silo at a time.” But in the end, the CIO’s role remains to make the customer’s life easier and to take away – or at least hide – the growing complexity that inevitably comes with technology. Rudi Peeters: “The customer focus is essential. That’s why IT needs perfect understanding of both technology and business. I urge everyone in IT to accept that challenge, for example by carrying out different jobs at the business side of the organisation for some time.”

‘The CEO is the better benchmark.’

Business experience indeed helps IT in seeing the bigger picture. The same applies to the CIO’s general view on technology. Pierre Gressier: “The best CIO is probably not a geek, although he or she needs to master several technical skills as well.” A successful CIO finds the right balance between technical skills and business orientation. “Operational excellence is necessary to gain the internal user’s trust”, concluded Gressier. “Delivering added value to the business through IT is the next step, and that’s one that demands business excellence.”

This article is based on the CIONET Belgium annual event ‘The Changing Role of the CIO’ of 31 January 2013.

Read more in the CIONET Magazine 14 iPad version (in the ‘CIONET+’ app).

CIONET Belgium THE NEXT CIO

The global collaboration and technology use of the Formula 1 teams can provide crucial best practice lessons for modern enterprises and CIOs.

Lessons from the fast lane Lessons from sport can provide a winning formula to CIOs. Formula 1 in particular is all about speed through innovation, using a combination of the latest technologies and seamless teamwork to get an extra millisecond out of the car’s performance. Companies operating in today’s globalised environment have to contend with a series of concerns, such as maintaining relationships, working to create efficiencies and achieving business agility among geographically disparate teams and partners. It is clear to see that the global collaboration and technology use of the Formula 1 teams can provide crucial best practice lessons for modern enterprises. After all, all CIOs must strive to gain a competitive edge through technology and innovation. By taking advantage of the fastest networks, true competitive advantage and return-on-investment can be gained for the business. Tata Communications recently agreed a deal with Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula 1 team to provide super-fast connectivity from all race locations around the globe. By using Tata’s global network, the team has the same access to secure and reliable trackside connectivity, regardless of race location. The result is the highest level of agility.

Increase car performance The Mercedes AMG Petronas team

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can send information back to their factories in the UK three times faster than previously. This is significant considering critical car performance data is transported back to the UK factories for analysis, and then transported back to the decision makers on the pit wall at each race. The increased speed on collaboration will enable the Mercedes AMG Petronas team to react more quickly to developments on the track, and help to increase car performance.

‘There is no prize for coming second.’ In business, as in sport, speed can make the difference between success and failure. Whether it’s reducing time to market through global collaboration or making trades in financial markets, CIOs looking to support international growth could look to sport for inspiration about the opportunities through global connectivity technologies. Even in emerging markets, IT infrastructure is in place that is making global growth and collaboration easier than ever before. Formula 1, with 19

races, in five continents is a great showcase for the types of tools and services that CIOs and the rest of the business can use to enable conversation among a global workplace. Giving companies the competitive edge through the use of technology should be at the forefront of every CIO’s mind. After all, once you replace the fans with customers and the opposing teams with your competitors, the landscape begins to form a familiar picture. But in business, there is no prize for coming second.

This article was written by Mehul Kapadia, managing director at F1 Business, Tata Communications.

Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the point of your digital strategy? Many companies are aware that digital is a massive opportunity but are unclear how to leverage the five disruptive technology forces - mobility, cloud computing, social business, analytics and cyber intelligence - reshaping the marketplace. Reimagine your place in your ecosystem, redefine your products, services and experiences, and retool to engage stakeholders more effectively. From strategy to delivery, Deloitte Digital combines cutting-edge creative with trusted business and technology experience to define and deliver digital solutions Make a point of visiting www.deloitte.be

ÂŠ 2013 Deloitte Belgium

Dutch researchers ask for our collaboration analysing the phenomenon of managers hiding behind their CIO to avoid taking responsibility.

Do managers (ab)use their CIO as an excuse? Over the years, the strategic importance of information has increased. Google, Amazon, Apple and Facebook are just some examples of companies that make billions, just by exploiting information in nifty new ways. In many other organisations, however, managers are struggling to achieve even the most basic levels of information hygiene, not even coming close to strategic use of information. In order to lead organisations towards better use of information resources, CIOs have been appointed in many of them. Managers at the tactical level of organisations are becoming increasingly aware of their responsibility. Besides all other things, a manager must also organise a flow of information, in order to contribute to the success of the organisation. The question of why this is so difficult is open to lots of fierce debate. The truth is that most explanations about success and failure are speculative for lack of evidence.

‘Why take responsibility if there is a CIO around?’ Even though one is tempted to believe that having a CIO around is a good thing, we are still looking for evidence to prove it. Sometimes CIOs tell us worrisome stories about managers who sit back and leave the hard work to the CIO. Why take responsibility if there is a CIO around whose job it is

to get business value by strategically using information? Does this ring a bell? Or do you vehemently disagree? We are looking for practical examples in order to gather evidence for the behavior of managers in organisations which enjoy the presence of a CIO.

New questions in CIONET survey We are dedicated to maintaining the influence of CIOs in the boardroom. We also believe that more facts are needed as evidence to support this. In this year’s CIONET survey we have added three questions about this research issue. We are curious and anxious to learn from your answers. So we urge you to fill out the questionnaire. We are also keen to hear your stories. If you have stories that exemplify the behavior of managers in relation to the CIO, we will be pleased to hear from you.

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The results of your answers will enable our researchers to analyse the phenomenon of managers hiding behind their CIO to avoid taking responsibility for exploiting one of the most valuable assets of an organisation: Information. These results will be published in an article by CIONET in one of the forthcoming issues of this magazine. This article was written by Richard Nagelmaeker, Data Architect at the Dutch Tax Authority and Solution Architect at Ordina, and Prof Dr Ir Stef Joosten, Full Professor at the Open Universiteit Nederland, Management Consultant for Ordina NV, and founder and CEO of Tarski Systems BV. Richard Nagelmaeker Prof Dr Ir Stef Joosten

Get a Grip on your day-to-day ICT management so your ICT department can focus on business solutions Your business changes ever more rapidly and your ICT department has to keep pace with all these changes. You are looking for business solutions empowered by ICT. Your ICT department should be able to spend more time focusing on the core processes of the organisation instead of managing the ICT systems. Grip of KPN gives your company complete ICT flexibility with your ICT department in the control room. From the Grip appstore we offer cloud applications you can easily scale up and down for the various user groups within your organisation. By means of single-sign-on your co-workers have access to all applications (cloud and non-cloud). Any time, anywhere, no matter which type of device and operating system they use. Grip offers great advantages to your ICT department: for example, in cases of recruitment or dismissal all the userâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s applications can be activated or blocked by a simple push of a button. KPN acts as a single vendor for the complete Grip application platform. This enables us to create one management dashboard, one contract, one invoice and act as one support desk for all applications. All applications are pay-per-use. There is a shift from Capex to Opex as you do not have to invest in complex ICT infrastructures. Grip of KPN helps you free yourself from daily ICT management while keeping balance between control and costs. Giving your ICT department the opportunity to divert the focus from ICT management to business enablement. For more information visit: kpn.com/grip

The CIO will be much more convincing by acting as a competent business partner rather than a technology guru.

How to become a business savvy CIO? The role of the CIO is not to provide technology, it is about delivering solutions which directly support the business goals of the organisation. To make this clear, Thomas Henkel, CIO of Amer Sports Corporation, changed the name of his department to ICS, ‘Information & Communication Solutions’. He also started to systematically measure the outcome of his ICT initiatives not only by operational cost savings, but also by business metrics such as on-time delivery, full-in delivery and customer satisfaction. From the perspective of Thomas Henkel, a real CIO needs to be part of the board or at least has to have the sponsorship of his senior management and a direct communication channel to the board members. “Let’s be honest, just to call yourself CIO doesn’t make you one.” In Thomas Henkel’s case, he got the sponsorship of his former CFO who understood what ICT can do for the business and - even more - that it is an absolute necessity to achieve the defined business goals.

done that, maybe the most important task of the CIO is to communicate with the board convincing them of the value of his vision and providing them with a clear assessment of the opportunity and its potential as well as a mature risk assessment. To be able to do this, the CIO needs to have a good understanding of how business leaders think and work. To broaden his background and develop a better understanding of

One of the key skills of a successful CIO is his/her ability to recognise, understand and communicate about the potential business opportunity of an ICT solution, both from a short and a long term perspective. This requires more than just a good understanding of what technology can do. “You need to be able to define a vision, translate it into tangible projects and link them to specific business goals.” Having

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which topics are relevant for business deciders, Thomas Henkel joined an executive MBA program. “By doing so, you broaden your scope and thinking, which enables you to develop your thought process out of the box of a traditional IT manager.” This business oriented education program also enabled him to further his ability to develop and implement solutions that really support the business goals of Amer Sports.

About Amer Sports Corporation Amer Sports is one of the leading sporting goods companies in the world. It offers technically advanced sports equipment, footwear, apparel and accessories and includes brands such as Salomon, Wilson, Atomic, and Precor. Through a sales network covering 33 countries, Amer Sports sells its products to trade customers, such as sporting goods chains, specialty retailers, and fitness clubs, and also directly to consumers through brand stores, factory outlets, and online. www.amersports.com

THE FOUR KEY ASSETS OF A SUCCESSFUL CIO

Read more in the CIONET Magazine 14 iPad version (in the ‘CIONET+’ app).

Strength of the IT team: the weakest link of your IT organization defines the strength of your team. You have to have good, business oriented people on all levels of your IT organisation;

Thomas Henkel, CIO of Amer Sports Corporation: “The CIO needs to have a good understanding of how business leaders think and work.”

Does size matter? Is there a difference between CIOs of large organisations and IT Leaders of midsized companies? Thomas Henkel is convinced that 80% percent of their tasks are more or less the same, although they may differ in size and complexity. Moreover, you can’t measure the added value of ICT by the size of the budget. Huge IT projects will not necessarily have the biggest impact on the business. “It is more important to understand the dynamics of your business and how your business leader measures success. If you know and understand what is important for your business, you will be able to jointly agree on the metrics of the results. In many cases smaller adjustments or ICT projects will deliver a higher measurable return for the business than huge projects.”

Good communicator, humble partner Let’s also be honest: once a project has been delivered, the interest of your business partners will decrease - especially when the solution works as planned. It is crucial however, to continue to communicate progress and reaffirm expectations. But be a humble business partner - you are not going to push over your business management through directives. Give them food for thought by providing impulses rather than trying to be the conductor. You will be much more

Good governance: you need to have a clear vision on where you want to be in a number of years and what the step-by-step priorities are. Moreover, excellent project management skills as well as the ability to monitor and re-assess value and risk on an ongoing basis are a necessity;

convincing by acting as a competent business partner rather than a technology guru - even more in times where technology increasingly becomes a commodity with widespread usage.

‘Just to call yourself CIO doesn’t make you one.’

Collaboration with the business (partners):

Finally, don’t try to be an engineer who knows all the bits and bytes of a solution. Rather qualify and judge the value of new technology trends and solutions on the basis of usability for our organisation’s business goals. It may be cool to be an early adopter of new technologies, but you will easily disqualify yourself and your team by suggesting them to your senior management without a clear understanding of their added business value and a proper analysis of the risks involved. Living by his own rules and expectations, Thomas Henkel has achieved what he aimed for: He is recognised as a ‘business savvy CIO’ who drives business objectives by implementing ICT solutions that really support the daily business of Amer Sports.

This article is based on an interview with Thomas Henkel, CIO of Amer Sports Corporation.

this requires constant development of existing and new relationships and interactions with the business side. It’s a process of give and take and will only by successful if it is deeply embedded in the daily working routines of both sides;

Personality: the role of the CIO not only requires certain skills and knowledge, but also personal characteristics, which are part of who he is as a person. “Be what you are, don’t pretend to be something different. Not every great IT manager will be a successful CIO. Recognise your strengths and weaknesses and judge yourself, whether you can and want to be a real CIO.”

CIONET Germany THE NEXT CIO

National Trust CIO Sarah Flannigan is drawing on her business background to transform technology at the conservation charity.

Beyond bits and bytes National Trust CIO Sarah Flannigan is different to many of her IT leadership peers. We meet in the atrium of Heelis, the organisation’s purpose-built head office in Swindon, and the location of one of Flannigan’s more extreme leadership moments: a flashmob. To celebrate former director general Dame Fiona Reynolds’ last day at the Trust in November 2012, Flannigan led an organisation-wide choir, who serenaded the executive with a specially-adapted version of Elvis Costello’s She. Employees rose from tables and emerged from breakout rooms to produce an unusual and touching tribute to Reynolds. Sarah Flannigan, CIO at The National Trust: “We’re talking about business change, process re-writing, simplification and – after all of that – a little bit of technology.”

The flashmob, which took months to prepare and which was orchestrated by Flannigan, provides a good example of her different approach to leadership. Rather than working her way up to the CIO role, Flannigan was parachuted into the Trust in April 2010. Her previous role was far removed from running IT for a charity. Between 2007 and 2009, Flannigan worked as sales and marketing director for manufacturing specialist David Salisbury, having previously been employed as the firm’s operations director. She decided to take a break from work in 2009 and spent time at

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home after the birth of her second son. So, why was she tempted to the return to the Trust? “I felt a mixture of joy and sadness on being approached for the position,” says Flannigan honestly, reflecting on her decision to return to the workplace. “I loved being at home but I also knew I couldn’t turn the role down. You can’t choose when things happen. And when I think about this job now, I feel like I’ve found my home. The position really is wonderful.”

Key challenges She immediately identified some key challenges. The Trust had a problematic customer relationship management (CRM) system and a poor engagement with the incumbent supplier. In addition, the majority of the organisation’s 350 remote, rural locations were poorly served by poor technology. “I called it the ‘cup of tea problem’, because staff on location told me they had enough time to

make tea while waiting for the computer to boot up and it took hours to run a month-end report,” says Flannigan. There was, as a result, a lack of good quality management information (MI). Any data that did exist, she says, was created for the benefit of people at head office as opposed to at the sites. Flannigan knew a big turnaround was required and she set about creating change by concentrating on four core priorities: people, CRM, infrastructure and MI. Success means the Trust now has a stable platform from which to deliver further business change. “We’re pretty well there,” she says, referring to the three-year project. “Historically, decisions at the Trust have been made in the context of IT being a hurdle,” says Flannigan. “The organisation is now not constrained by artificial technical barriers. The Trust can go on to the next level and start making crucial business decisions.”

Support factors She says the ability to move forwards with confidence has been pushed by a combination of support factors. Along with her first three-year IT strategy coming of age, Flannigan says the Trust’s board of Trustees are eager for the organisation to gain the most value from technology. Additional support has come from executive peers and the organisation’s new director general, Dame Helen Ghosh. The new three-year IT strategy will focus on developing a sweet spot between the overlapping interests of CRM, finance, operations and digital opportunity. “We want to equip managers with the information to make great decisions,” she says. “Understanding MI in the round relies on the collection of accurate data.”

Potential example projects include developing loyalty cards for members that help the organisation understand when people visit sites and how the Trust can provide associated benefits, such as special reductions for the café.

‘Focus ruthlessly on what the business needs to achieve.’ Flannigan says there is a real desire to bring together the traditionally separate areas of CRM, finance, operations and digital opportunity. “You wouldn’t normally aim to work on all four areas at once but simultaneous action provides us with an opportunity to produce great results,” she says. “There will still be prioritisation – there has to be, because we’re a charity. But the biggest value comes from engaging with our supplier base to develop our strategy. We’re talking about business change, process rewriting, simplification and – after all of that – a little bit of technology.” Technology specialist SCC provides a managed service to the Trust. The company has streamlined desktop support and provides a single point of contact for operational issues. SCC has also helped the Trust consolidate a number of existing relationships into one service level agreement. Flannigan says further change is inevitable. “We’ve still got a huge list of suppliers and we need to rationalise,” she says. “Success for us comes from working with tier two vendors who are big enough to deal with our concerns but not too large that I can’t meet the CEO if I have a significant problem. Getting the balance right leads to strategic alliances. We’re a charity and that defines our purpose. We need value from technology, not the

bleeding edge. We’ll let the rest of the world take risks and make mistakes.”

Subjugate the technology Flannigan concludes by reflecting on her business background and suggesting value from IT will always be about eschewing an unhealthy interest in bits and bytes. “Subjugate the technology,” she says. “Never be IT-led. Focus ruthlessly on what the business needs to achieve and recognise that the right answer might not necessarily be in terms of a technical solution.”

Value from IT will always be about eschewing an unhealthy interest in bits and bytes.

Read more in the CIONET Magazine 14 iPad version (in the ‘CIONET+’ app).

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While recognising the intimate relationship of information with technology, information management should be dealt with as a domain in its own right.

The ‘I’ in IT While recognising the intimate relationship of information with technology, information management should be dealt with as a domain in its own right. Why? Because, strangely enough, the term ‘IT’ seems to be confusing. Does it refer to an organisational entity, e.g. the IT department and if so, does that include the applications domain? Does it refer to artefacts such as hardware, software and data that are used to enable and support planning, collection, organisation, use, control, dissemination and disposal of information?1 And finally, and this is my main topic, is ‘information’ included in IT, or is it a separate entity? This article was written by Mark Smalley, an IT Management Consultant based in the Netherlands. He is also known as the IT Paradigmologist.

Why now? I had the recent pleasure of taking part in a panel discussion about ‘Trends in IT Service Management’2 with Chris Dancy and James Finister, moderated by Stephen Mann. While preparing for the panel discussion and thinking about the kind of questions that people would and should be thinking about, I decided to ask some movers and shakers in my network about the questions that they thought IT people should be thinking about. This resulted in 67 questions3 posed by 24 experts from 16 countries. Amongst whom Charles Betz. Charlie often apologises for being an architect but you’ve got to give him credit for being one of the cleverest guys in the room as far as

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analysis and (historical) perspective is concerned. Charlie noticed that some of the questions touched on “the age-old existential questions about ‘what is IT?’ and ‘what happens if we take IT out of ITSM?’” and referred the experts to a couple of essays4 as well as to his definition of IT value: “IT value is found in qualifying the organisation (or more generally, any actor) to participate in information-rich environments, and - to the extent that performance depends on excellence in managing information - in elevating this performance above peers.” Charlie has shared this with me previously and I’ve referred to it a lot5 in my simplified form: “using IT to help you both survive and succeed”.

Is ‘information’ included in IT, or is it a separate entity? Anyway, getting back to ‘why now?’, it was the ‘performance depends on excellence in managing information’ part that triggered my urge to write something and, in so doing, structure my thoughts.

‘Performance depends on excellence in managing information. Information management A quick search will provide you with several decent definitions of information management and I’ve combined a couple to clarify the activities, goals, and responsibilities: “Information management is the means by which an organisation efficiently plans, collects, organises, uses, controls, disseminates and disposes of its information, and through which it ensures that the value of that information is identified and exploited to the fullest extent.1 Information management is a corporate responsibility that needs to be addressed and followed from the most senior levels of management to the front line worker. Organisations must be held and must hold their employees accountable to manage information appropriately and responsibly.”6 This composite definition appeals to me for two reasons. It doesn’t mention information technology (which I

regard as a closely related but separate entity with its own characteristics). It emphasises that it’s a business (private or public organisation) responsibility to manage information, implying that information is a business asset. The more important the business asset, the greater the need to manage the asset.

Importance of information So how important is information? How crucial is information for helping you to survive? How crucial is information for helping you to succeed? Is information ‘just’ an internal resource that supports your primary processes or is it (part of) your product/service? The answers to these questions will inform you how you organise information management.

• How well do you construct and manage the non-automated part (e.g. manual procedures) of your information systems? • How well do you use your information systems? The fourth question is often the weakest link in the chain. You have spent gazillions on creating information systems with lots of potential but the actual value is only realised when they are used effectively and hopefully also efficiently. Who is responsible for ensuring effective and efficient use? Has this and the other three topics been left to chance or have they been organised? Can the board of directors and top management demonstrate that they are governing and managing information appropriately?

Taking a high-level governance perspective, I’d suggest that there are two major questions to be answered: • Are you spending an appropriate amount of time and money on information (as opposed to other assets such as people)? • Is this time and money well-spent? Drilling down to questions for business management: • How well do you (as users of business information) identify the information that your business needs? • How well do you acquire and manage IT services that fulfill (part of) your information needs?

Read the full article in the CIONET Magazine 14 iPad version (in the ‘CIONET+’ app).

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Lean IT may not be a totally new idea but it brings a structured approach and a new philosophy for an ongoing transformation of the IT department.

Getting closer to the customer with Lean IT Lean Management is mainly applied in production and factories. However, its implementation to the IT domain is a recurring subject. The most important lessons from Lean IT experiences may be the value creation model and the closeness with clients which it brings in its philosophy and management principles. ‘Lean Management’ or ‘management without waste’ isn’t new as a management system. It strives for performance through continuous improvement (PDCA - Plan Do Check Act) on axes such as: productivity, quality, deadlines, costs. These improvements result from reduction of ‘waste’ in the broad sense of the word (resources, time...)

It is then clear that Lean Management is mainly applied to production and factories. However, its implementation to the IT domain is a recurring subject. And indeed GreenSI uses the term ‘service factory’ to speak about the infrastructure evolution and to tackle the transition towards the Cloud. There have been more and more articles on Lean IT since the beginning of

Invented in Japan by Toyota during the 70’s, Lean became popular in the 80’s thanks to Business Schools in the United-States which teach methods, such as Six Sigma - developed by the former Motorola - and its specific pyramid shaped organisation of human resources and their know-how. Yellow belts are the ones who have been initiated to the method and green belts dedicate 25% of their time to it. Regarding black belts, they are team managers working full-time on improvement management, but they also dedicate a part of their time to green belt people training. The ‘master’ manages black belts and acts as a mentor. This is very close to Japanese martial-art schools.

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the year and we therefore wanted to investigate this topic. In January 2011, the article ‘Eight steps to achieve lean IT’ following the ‘European Lean IT Summit in Paris’ proposed some ideas to bring together - at the IT level - production (infrastructure, support...) and development (projects ...). Anyone who has worked in this ‘friction area’ between two teams who have contradictory aims, knows well that “if it works, even if you don’t know why, don’t touch!” Thus, applying Lean to IT may not be easy... I recently discovered the book ‘The use of lean management in IT’ which translates industrial concepts into the IT environment and vocabulary, and it must be admitted that some ideas have to be highlighted even if it is true that some agile methods, aiming for continuous development and waste control, have already been developed.

Frédéric Charles, IT Strategy and Governance Director at Lyonnaise des Eaux Suez : “The hardest is to involve EVERY user and not only their representatives, whether they are part of the project ownership or of the hierarchy.”

Then, are CIOs practicing Lean without knowing it, or do they have much to learn from it? The conclusion from the experiences presented in

Visualise the daily production

IT departments must find a way to get closer to the client and understand his expectations. this book, is that Lean management improves every IT activity where it has been implemented. But the most important may be the value creation model and the closeness with clients which it brings in its philosophy and management principles.

What is the client expecting? This may be the most important question whether we tackle a new project or a recurring process. Nowadays, the answer isn’t as simple as it was. Several Digital agencies try to convince user departments that a specification book is not needed to get a better control of their client service. There is a balance to be found between overguiding specifications, which reduce agility, and no specification at all. The book ‘La pratique du lean management dans l’IT’ proposes to start by rethinking the value and highlighting activities that provide internal value to users, and those that provide a better customer experience. To do this, we need to go ‘on the spot’.

‘Lean management can improve IT activity.’ On the user side, IT departments are usually well prepared to involve users. The hardest thing being to involve EVERY user and not only their representatives, whether they are part

• • • •

Use (users) Incidents Support calls Projects To reveal the problems

To improve management practices • • • •

ITIL CMMI CoBIT ValIT

CLIENT FOCUS

Respond quickly to protect the client

• • • •

Plan Do Check Act

Solve the problems one by one: PDCA

Lean Management or ‘management without waste’ strives for performance through continuous improvement (PDCA - Plan Do Check Act).

of the project ownership or of the hierarchy. When we look at web startups which start to develop with few resources and even fewer processes, we can ask ourselves the question: why wouldn’t we adopt the ‘feedback’ button that they use sometimes? A button that stands proudly on the left side of any screen in order not to lose an opportunity to get in contact with the users. The more cautious persons will say that it could shortcut the centralised support, but this entity hardly ever comes with good ideas. The 2.0 collaborative supporters will say that everything and anything will be said and that real communities should be structured... But detecting those who are ready to click on this button and thus to help IT departments to improve products, is something that is not being captured anywhere else. So if this is a new approach that can indeed bring some ideas and stimulate the collaboration of new users, why not give it a try?

However, for the external users side, IT departments must find a way to get closer to those within the company, who know how to involve the client and understand his expectations. Usually they work in the Marketing and Communication departments. But once again, apart from omnipresent and sometimes omnipotent agencies, it is necessary that the department plays the role of mobilising client panels and not only specifying what the project director believes to be customer needs. As a conclusion, Lean IT may not be a totally new idea but it brings a structured approach and a new philosophy for a progressive on-going transformation of the IT department.

This article was written by Frédéric Charles, IT Strategy and Governance Director at Lyonnaise des Eaux Suez. He is also a well-known blogger (greensi.blogspot.com) and a member of the CIONET France Advisory Board.

CIONET France CIO VISION

CIOs must start a different kind of conversation between IT departments and the rest of the business.

Embrace the digital disruption The IT sector must face up to multiple challenges and come to terms with a new way of thinking if it is to remain relevant to modern business. Adopting a fresh perspective - focused on the end point, rather than the technological journey - is going to be crucial during the coming months and years. Technology departments are failing to respond to the disruption brought about by cloud services and the consumerisation of IT. Business demands are currently running at a rate five times faster than IT can deliver, and millions of workers, consumers and companies are accustomed to everything being available and free. Organisations are being overtaken by the consumerisation of IT, with users connecting to corporate environment through personal devices irrespective of official policies. In-house support teams face a raft of challenges around keeping up with the changing demands of a workforce accustomed to doing what they want, whenever they want, and on whatever devices they choose. IT departments must realise the technology profession has not responded well to the disruptive technologies that have changed the way we work. Adopting a fresh perspective - focused on the end point, rather than the technological journey - is going to be crucial during the coming months and years. A wake-up call comes in the fact that 30% of UK corporate IT spending is now controlled from outside the traditional IT department. The industry needs to come to terms

CIO VISION CIONET UK

with such decentralised procurement and evaluate potential lessons from popular cloud services in the areas of music, video and social networking.

Identify the killer apps IT organisations must identify the killer apps that can connect staff with business processes. They also need to identify which employees need to do their job faster, better and cheaper. Finally, they must also look at how employees collaborate at work, and align any strategies with the way people communicate in their downtime.

Ian Sherratt, Corporate CTO at SCC: “In the cloud era, in-house initiatives make less sense, and outsourced partnerships are likely to become a key focus of activity during the next few years.”

Many businesses are likely to consider the termination of existing change projects in line with a rapidly shifting marketplace. SCC believes that, in the cloud era, in-house initiatives make less sense, and predicts that outsourced partnerships are likely to become a key focus of activity during the next few years. CIOs must stop agonising about how they’re going to make legacy software run on an iPad in this disruptive environment, and start a different kind of conversation between IT departments and the rest of the business. Such conversation should focus on data sovereignty, rather than operating systems, and it should embrace both a client-centric perspective and flexible approach to the end point. IT leaders need to move fast. Executives raised in an era of audio cassettes and floppy disks must face up to a generation gap, where new entrants to the workplace are accustomed to a truly digital and always-on culture. CIOs that can’t deliver the services being demanded will face disgruntled business users wanting to know why the organisation is lagging behind. This article is based on an interview with Ian Sherratt, Corporate CTO at SCC.

Only a close alliance between the CIO and the CMO allows the definition of a strategy of Digital Marketing.

IT and digital marketing: when the CIO meets the CMO All major brands are investing and gaining expertise to stimulate new contact opportunities and develop a positive experience for the customer in the place where he (or she) is and at the exact moment in which he presumably can make a choice. As higher budgets and more resources - allocated to the opportunities offered by the web - have increased the power of the CMO, the historic separation between marketing and IT is decreasing. A growing need to collaborate with the CIO is emerging in order to maximise the outcome for the consumer and to handle the increased complexity. In the future there will be no alternative to working together. But we have only taken a few steps and in most cases we haven’t even started yet. CIOs and CMOs are facing a turning point and they need each other’s support. The digital revolution has forever changed the balance between the customer and the enterprise, putting the customer at the head of the relationship. Information technology has undergone major changes as a result of digital technologies and marketing is also the protagonist of a deep transformation. How do CMOs and CIOs work together for the mutual benefit and success of their organisations? We asked six CMOs from top Italian companies on the occasion of the CIONET

CIO VISION CIONET Italy

Italy annual event ‘CIOsummit 2013’. The event took place in Milan on 15 April 2013. More than 65 CIOs and IT Directors were present at this first Italian event on the relationship between the CIO and the CMO, which was powered by CIONET Italy. Luigi Caricato, Group Vice President External Communication at Gruppo Legrand, Alessandro Colafranceschi, SVP Head Global Online & Mobile

Luigi Caricato

Maria Cristina Farioli

Alessandro Colafranceschi

Amy Harp

Banking at Unicredit, Marco Ehmer, Marketing Director at BMW Italy, Maria Cristina Farioli, Marketing, Communication & Citizenship Director at IBM Italy, Amy Harp, Digital Global Business Development at illycaffè and Pepe Moder, Director of Digital Media at Pirelli Tyres, were the six keynote speakers at the roundtable ‘CMO experiences’. The chairman was Alfredo Gatti, Managing Director at CIONET Italy.

Marco Ehmer

Pepe Moder

Innovation as a key lever for the success of their companies, the pervasive use of digital technologies, the shift to social media and the enormous amount of data that customers - not just consumers but individuals - leave on the web, impose new challenges on the CMOs who are well aware of the importance of having a strong relationship with their colleagues of IT. We then opened an animated debate with the CIOs. Thanks to their leadership and deep knowledge of business processes, policies and information security, CIOs are the protagonists of a new synthesis and the main actors of innovation together with the business. CIOs have to move the company to a unique, comprehensive and integrated social strategy. Only a close alliance between the CIO and the CMO allows the definition of a strategy of digital marketing which is comprehensive and integrated into a technology roadmap, focused on the customers and their user experience, and consistent with the business results that can be achieved. According to Enzo Bertolini, Group CIO at Ferrero and Chairman of the CIONET Italy Advisory Board “CIOs and CMOs need to interact to maximise the outcome for the consumer”. “The new scenario requires CEOs to change their focus in the use of information technology”, argued Maurizio Brianza, CIO at bticino while Dario Castello, CIO at Maserati, wondered if the CMO will be the next CIO. In the opinion of Stefano Catellani, CIO at Caprari, “understanding and collaboration between the CIO and the CMO are the same as between the test manager and the team manager in Formula 1”. “The CIO has to follow the agenda of the CMO but also be a step ahead of the CMO”, argued Paolo Daperno, CIO & Business Process Director at illycaffè, while Mara Maffei, Manager ICT at Heineken Italy, not without some wit said: “If

they are roses, let them bloom.” Paolo Magnani, VP IT Life Sciences & Healthcare Sector, Mainland Europe at DHL Supply Chain, said: “The collaboration between the CIO and the CMO is essential.” Donatella Paschina, Group CIO at Ermenegildo Zegna, confirmed that “CIOs and CMOs must work together to create value for the enterprise”. “The CMO is an important stakeholder for the CIO”, argued Luigi Pignatelli, ICT Manager at Carl Zeiss Italy and Adriano Riboni, CIO at Sanofi Aventis Italy, added that “the CMO admits the collaboration with the CIO is essential”. “This is a leverage to

improve the services to the citizens”, explained Nicola Rivezzi, IT Manager at Metropolitana Milanese.

The ‘CIOsummit 2013’ also hosted the awards ceremony of the CIONET ITALIA AWARD 2013, the second edition of the Italian prize for CIOs who create value for their company.

Read more in the CIONET Magazine 14 iPad version (in the ‘CIONET+’ app).

Enzo Bertolini

Maurizio Brianza

Dario Castello

Stefano Catellani

Paolo Daperno

Mara Maffei

Paolo Magnani

Donatella Paschina

Luigi Pignatelli

Adriano Riboni

Nicola Rivezzi

CIONET Italy CIO VISION

Business architecture as a key framework for Strategic Information Systems Alignment

Does the CIO play an important role in organisational strategy development? For a long time, strategic alignment of Information Systems (IS) has been a frequently discussed topic. Several approaches have been developed to achieve this objective. However, typically the team in charge of this task comprises only or mainly IT staff that naturally adopt IT models without capturing essential organisational semantics. Differing interests and languages make the communication process with management people very difficult. In fact, the strategic alignment of IS is only possible if a Business Architecture (BA) is designed. This task should involve management models and people. BA is fundamental for the alignment of the whole organisation and should therefore be the reference framework for the organisational knowledge and continuous improvement of the organisation.

whole organisation. This is fundamental to organisational innovation, assuring good system specifications and contributing to the business strategy. In practice, only a few non-IT people are addressing this issue. Business architecture, according to the state of the art, should be system-oriented in order to endorse the agility and adaptability to the organisation.

Organisational Strategy is a topic in the agenda of Business Process Management (BPM) approaches. Normally it is referred to as part of the business architecture, being the top layer of enterprise architecture. A strategic view of the organisation and its business processes is not the main issue in most projects, which are too heavily focused on operations and technology. The organisation is not only the sum of its processes. The business architecture includes organisational boundaries and organisational SLAs that represent key success factors in the strategic alignment of the

Thus, the profile of the people integrating the change team should have competencies in system and process oriented thinking, a broad understanding of all processes and projects and be aware of enabling technology for the competitiveness of the business.

CIO VISION CIONET Portugal

CIOs are very well positioned candidates for this job. A recent CIONET/ INSEAD survey showed that there is a trend towards process and client orientation. CIOs need to extend their efforts to cope with the strategic field of the business architecture, such as value creation chains, and not only the

operational processes. CIOs should play a key role in the innovation of processes but also of the organisation as a whole.

This article was written by Jorge Coelho. He has an academic background in mechanical engineering and computer science. Jorge is President of IPBPM, VicePresident of ABPMP Portugal and university professor at the University of Minho, University Portucalense, ISCTE, ISEG and Porto Business School. He also is a CIONET Portugal Advisory Board member.

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