Aligning Small Business and Technology

A fundamental shift is happening in IT leadership that both thrills and frightens me, as a CIO, because it is redefining my IT leadership role.

For the first 50 or 60 years of enterprise computing, the capabilities of business processes and business rules outpaced the capabilities of technology, and IT was in a mostly supporting role. The organization evolved processes and approaches and defined its technology needs, then IT would design and deliver systems that aligned with those needs.

Now the situation has reversed: The capabilities of technology outstrip those of business processes and rules. Technology defines the organization. You create organizational and market possibilities through technology.

And as the relationship has switched, so has the IT leader’s role. Rather than playing a supporting part, we are expected to lead product, service, and process innovation.