Stats

One of the interesting things about writing something like this blog is the analytics of who visits. Recently, readers from Peru began to pop up. Not sure what drove them there but it's great to see.

I had the chance in August 2006 to visit Peru and hike the Inca Trail. Wow! Took the 4 day, officially sanctioned trip. It was well worth the effort. 13,000' (4000m plus) is way up there but the spectacular scenery of the Andes, the incredible friendliness of everyone we met there and the stunning remains of the Incan civilization made it more than worthwhile.

So, welcome to my Peruvian readers!

Creating Organizations

We announced a new organization structure today at Celestica. I'm always amazed at how long it takes from conception to announcement and how much is left to finish the reshaping of large, complex organizations. By now, I shouldn't be surprised but....

The goal in this case is to better align IT to the business (novel concept!) while flattening out the organization. This creates more opportunities for leaders to be identified and provide the drive and momentum needed to create really amazing solutions that the business, our customers and their customers require. I'm excited by the leadership team that's in place. Great thinkers who are enthusiastic about their teams, the business and the challenge ahead.

The announcement isn't the end of the hard work of reshaping an organization; rather it is just the end of the beginning. Now the fun begins!

Seattle CIO Forum II

About half a dozen CIO's and IT leaders from the Puget Sound area met today at the Harbor Club in Seattle. This month's topic was the relationship between CIO's and CFO's. I'd asked my friends, Liz Huebner and Mike Anderson- two outstanding CFO's and all-around great people- to participate in a panel discussion.

I teed it up by asking both Liz and Mike to describe the things that are key drivers in the life of a CFO, especially a public company officer. Their reply was that the absolute responsibility for the company's "numbers" and the integrity of them, leads them to being deeply involved in knowing a great deal about the entire company and its processes. This can bring tension sometimes when the CIO is asked for the Why and How of the company's technology. The key? Don't get defensive, look at things from the other side of the question and help your CFO to understand the business metrics, drivers, risks and alternatives. It's not an attack, it's a need to know.

I had to reluctantly call a halt to the discussion as we were running out of time. Just a superb session and my hat's off to my CFO guests and thanks to the CIO's who participated. I learn something every time I'm with you all!

I'm going to try to spend more time relaying more of the conversation in future postings. I believe that one of the absolute keys to success for CIO's is developing and nurturing a strong relationship with the CFO and one that is so often mis-managed.

EXTREME COMMUTING

OK, truth be told this post has nothing to do with being a CIO or even a member of technology community. It has nothing to do with which airline I fly on, or how lame I think most of what the TSA does to the flying public (see this article from the NY Times which said it perfectly). It has nothing to do with the fact that I'm in between owning an airplane, cranky about it and would rather fly myself even when that's not feasible....like Seattle to Toronto in a single day.

Sitting in seat 16C on Air Canada's flight 540 from Seattle to Toronto this morning, I thought I had it made. I generally like the AC flights as they have reasonably new aircraft, I get my own personal entertainment system in the seat back in front of me and the crews are friendly and polite. This particularly flight was probably no more than 2/3rds full and the seat next to me was empty. Yes! I thought as I moved from the treasured aisle seat to the window for takeoff. I like watching takeoff and landing- not as much as when I get to fly the plane but still it's the best part of the flight. The trouble began shortly after takeoff as the guy in front of me pushed his seat back as far as it would go. His girlfriend next to him did the same thing. Now, I've got the nifty entertainment screen about 6 inches from my face for the next 3 1/2 hours. Way to close for comfort not to mention being to cross my legs or move.

My complaint comes in two parts: first, what in the world are the airlines thinking, specifying a configuration like that on a fairly small airplane (Embraer 190) anyways? A seat that reclines such that the passenger behind has to scrunch down to see his book? or meal?? Is it just to make the entire commercial air travel experience worse than it already is? Secondly, what goes through the heads of people like the folks in front of me? She looked over her shoulder to see how close she was....perhaps because I had to push her seat forward just to uncross my legs. It's the same thinking that compels some to talk on their cellphones in public places about the most private things at volumes that are beyond being ignored. It's a kind of incredible selfishness I guess. "I can put the seat back as far as it goes because I am able to, your concerns for personal space be damned." Just one of those things that makes an otherwise boring commute of 5 hours and 3 time zones a little more stressful.

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Rough Type: Nicholas Carr's Blog: The network is the data center

Most IT professionals will remember Nicholas Carr for his argument that IT Doesn't Matter. I find his blog an interesting read most days. Today's reference really caught my attention. Like most global CIO's I know, I'm a firm believer in reducing the number of data centers we operate out of in order to take advantage of economies of scale and reduce the overall complexity. As you can see in the snippet below though, Sun's Brian Cinque articulates a goal of......zero data centers by 2015! Yikes! Now there's a BHAG!

I think the underlying assumption has validity. I don't want to run data centers and networks just like I don't want to generate my own electricity. I want what I can do with their output. I'm planning to get my company's data center footprint down to 2 or 3 in the next couple of years. Zero data centers, now that's a better number. Architecting for that kind of future will give us much more flexibility I think regardless of whether we get to zero or not. It'll make disaster recovery, technology upgrades and cost variability much more achievable and realistic.

Rough Type: Nicholas Carr's Blog: The network is the data center: "
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The network is the data center
JANUARY 11, 2008
In an ironic twist, some of today's leading manufacturers of server computers are also among the companies moving most aggressively to reduce their need for servers and other hardware components. Hewlett-Packard, for instance, is in the midst of a project to slash the number of data centers it operates from 85 to 6 and to cut the number of servers it uses by 30 percent. Now, Sun Microsystems is upping the stakes. Brian Cinque, the data center architect in Sun's IT department, says the company's goal is to close down all its internal data centers by 2015. 'Did I just say 0 data centers?' he writes on his blog.'Yes! Our goal is to reduce our entire data center presence by 2015.'

Cinque provides few details - he says he'll flesh out the plans in future blog posts - but it's clear that he anticipates that the software-as-a-service model, and related virtua"

(Via .)

Pining for the fjords: Microsoft bids $1.2 billion for Norwegian search company

Wow! Having made a leap of faith to incorporating the FAST search technology into the e-commerce platform while at Getty Images, I never thought they'd end up as a Billion Dollar (Microsoft) Baby! In seriousness, one of our concerns in signing up as a FAST customer was their size and could they survive against the likes of Google. Guess that question's been laid to rest.

At Getty Images, the focus of the search engine was to improve the e-commerce search capabilities. It would appear that Microsoft's focus wasn't on external search but inward-facing enterprise search.

How many companies are using enterprise search internally today? If you are currently using or planning to deploy it, how did you go about justifying it? What considerations for protection of the company's confidential information were made? Certainly enterprise search is a need if we are going to be able to develop the kinds of flexible, "now" information platforms needed in the future. That said, for most companies I suspect it's not high on the shopping list for 2008. What's your take?

Pining for the fjords: Microsoft bids $1.2 billion for Norwegian search company: "

Enterprise search is one of the bigger holes in Microsoft's enterprise software line. Now the company plans to plug the gap with a $1.2 billion purchase.

Read More...

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(Via Ars Technica.)

What CEO's want from CIO's

CIO.com recently posted an interesting article about the above subject. It was one of the better lists of practical, "why doesn't everyone get this" advice I've seen on the subject.

I posted a reply agreeing with all of the points save one: the reporting relationship does matter. As I said in the post, "If you signed up to report to the CFO, then no whining. That said, where you report foretells the kind of goals and objectives you are likely to have to adopt. Not 100% accurate but certainly a leading indicator. There are certainly CFO's who are very good at focusing not just on the cost side of the equation and who don't see IT as simply a cost to be squeezed. So I start from the position that given a choice, I want to report to either the COO or CEO. The focus will tend to be more balanced with plenty of opportunity to impact top line growth because you are expected to get involved there. There's going to be less resistance. Becoming strategic, having a "seat at the table" is doable regardless of where you report if you add value. It's that simple but it's much more work depending on where you start."

In the end, if you add value as perceived by your peers and the CEO, you'll find yourself participating in the key, strategic decisions of your organization. It's that simple. People and organizations tend not to waste talent. The question is how long will that take? In an organization where IT is viewed as a difference maker, you have a leg up. If it's not viewed that way, the road is longer. For 2008 then, what's your plan?

Happy New Year!

Here's wishing everyone a wonderful 2008.