Event: IS2003

CIOs learn new strategies at IS 2003

To analyze IT spends across industry verticals, Network Magazine and market researcher IMRB conducted an industry survey called Infrastructure Strategies 2003 (IS 2003) in April. The results and analysis of the survey were released through two print issues, CIO roundtables, and forums in select cities.

The series of forums kicked off in Mumbai on 24 June, 2003. The event was attended by 100 CIOs, CTOs and other IT Heads. Sandeep Ajgaonkar, Associate Editor, Network Magazine discussed the highlights of the survey. Ajgaonkar listed the key reasons for the lack of IT-business alignment. He said a CIO needs to be considered as a Strategist and not just a provider of technology solutions. A CIO must understand core business issues and try and fit them into different technology scenarios. This way a CIO would be able to contribute significantly to a company's growth and future strategy, he added.

S. Sabyasachi, Head, Software & Services Research, IDC (India) Ltd. spoke about the effective management of IT assets. He revisited the evolution of IT infrastructure in the enterprise. In the course of his presentation he reminded the audience about the changing business environment and how it impacts the IT infrastructure.

"As business operations expand the load on IT infrastructure increases. So we need to look at service-centric computing and system area networks," said Sabyasachi. "But we also need to look at how the IT infrastructure addresses the business challenges," he added.

Sabyasachi also discussed the concerns that CIOs have in a changing infrastructure.

The next speaker was C. Kajwadkar, VP-IT, NSE.IT. Kajwadkar shared NSE's experience in building its vast IT infrastructure. "When you are building your infrastructure, it's also important to look at the infrastructure of the service provider. You need to have an enterprise management service that handles the entire infrastructure. It must track even license details and all other aspects of infrastructure."

Kajwadkar also advised CIOs to do resilience planning and to choose the right tools when planning IT infrastructure.

The final presentation was made by Rajendra Dhavale, Consulting Director, Computer Associates. He shared CA's views about Managing IT Infrastructure. He spoke about the challenges that IT managers faced when designing IT infrastructure, assessing and managing it. The audience listened attentively as Dhavale discussed how to reduce technology risks, manage change, and improve the quality of service delivery.

A similar forum was conducted in New Delhi and Chennai. Speaking at the New Delhi forum, Sandeep Parikh, who manages IT at Mother Dairy, pointed out that IT infrastructure management is now emerging as a key differentiator for organizations. He said the typical problems encountered by any CIO includes low representation of IT departments in management, leading to poor cost allocation.

In this backdrop, it is important for CIOs to have a clear understanding of what the organization expects from them and accordingly put an IT strategy in place. It is also important for the CIO to carefully balance the immediate and long-term needs.

Speaking at the New Delhi forum, IDC’s Sabyasachi said in order to increase the overall performance of an organization using IT, a CIO’s accountability needs to be increased. This can be done by involving the CIO in the decision-making processes. At times, this could also involve reshaping the organization and processes in order to integrate IT and business units, he added.

S. Sabyasachi, Head, Software & Services Research, IDC (India) Ltd. spoke about the effective management of IT assets

Rajendra Dhavale, Consulting Director, Computer Associates discusses CA's views about Managing IT Infrastructure

C. Kajwadkar, VP-IT, NSE.IT. shares NSE's experience in building its vast IT infrastructure

CIOs and IT Heads listen attentively to the advice and insights on management of IT infrstructure

The four speakers (L-R): S. Sabyasachi (IDC India), Sandeep Aajgaonkar (Associate Editor, Network Magazine), C. Kajwadkar (VP-IT, NSE.IT), Rajendra Dhavale (Computer Associates)

Sandeep Ajgaonkar, Associate Editor, Network Magazine, discusses the findings of the survey