Ensuring Employees Fulfill Compliance-Related Tasks
April 30, 2008
New rules and regulations put unprecedented pressure on executives. The result, says Steve Pugh, the CEO of CODA Financials in the Americas, is that lots of time and money are spent on processes and procedures designed to create a compliance structure. Some organizations miss the key step of ensuring that employees actually carry out their assigned tasks. The good news is that tools exist. The better news is that they contribute to the company’s overall health.
Building Bridges Between IT and Other Departments
April 29, 2008
Many observers feel that IT will grow in stature by becoming more proactive. One way to foster this attitude is for personnel from IT and other departments to temporarily trade places, says Patrick Gray, the founder and president of the Prevoyance Group. That’s a terrific idea–and one that will have benefits beyond simply making IT play a more energetic role.
Don’t Separate IT from the Rest of the Business
April 28, 2008
IT departments that treat other areas of the company as customers who must be satisfied–no different than the real customers, the ones who pay the bills–are doing both the organization and themselves a disservice, says Patrick Gray, the founder and President of the Prevoyance Group. Instead of passively fulfilling requirements, IT should break down the walls and actively harness technology for the organization’s success.
Balancing IT Budgets to Support Operations and Innovation
April 22, 2008
Traditional portfolio management tools are valuable but incomplete because they don’t have access to the complex data that reflects IT systems’ evolution. alfabet co-founder and CEO Erik Masing says fuller profiles of what is happening are possible when the architectural management tools used by IT to track technological changes are part of the mix.
The Corporate “Odd Couple” Can Drive an Organization’s Operational Success
April 17, 2008
The relationship between the CFO and the CIO is changing drastically. This is a huge opportunity for smart companies. By thinking proactively, emerging tools provide the organization’s leaders with a deeper understanding of their business. Doug Barton, the Vice President of Product Marketing for Cognos, an IBM company, offers two views. First, he describes new approaches that can be utilized. Then, he discusses why surprises–even good ones–should be taken as signs that better visibility is necessary.
Choosing the Right Backup Vendor Requires IT/Finance Cooperation
April 14, 2008
Companies calling on their backup and recovery providers probably have already received one surprise: Their systems are down or data has been lost. Storagepipe President and CEO Steven Rodin suggests that cooperation between IT and Finance can avoid more surprises, such as unexpectedly high costs or a set of services that don’t truly provide what the company needs.
The CIO/CFO Partnership is Not All About Numbers
April 8, 2008
When executives from IT and Finance meet—which isn’t too often—the CIO should have three goals, says Tom Warren, Acumen Solution’s Senior Manager of Global Services. The keys are to improve the partnership, better understand the company’s financial issues and gain insight into how technology can help achieve its goals.
Spreadsheets are Spreadsheets–Not Planning Tools
April 2, 2008
In some cases, quickest and easiest is best. Using a spreadsheet to map an organization’s future may seem like such a case. It is not, however, says Bitam CEO Dave Abdo. The problems associated with using spreadsheets for planning purposes include hidden costs, mistakes and cumbersome operation.
