BUILDING IT BETTER

What are the biggest challenges for CIOs? Delivering value and business outcomes, and not simply systems and services, is a big challenge. It is important not just to achieve these benefits but to be seen to be delivering them. There are three underlying challenges here; firstly the perennial problem of getting business and IT strategy to align – a consistent agenda item at every CIO conference for as long as I can remember. IT needs to be part of the business and should not attempt to lead, or be satisfied simply to follow. Secondly, the business, including IT, needs to be able to manage change to ensure the benefits are captured. IT projects have a reputation for being high on cost and time overruns and low on business benefit – this is a reputation that is all too often deserved. In my view the single greatest contributor to IT project failures is the inability of the IT group to work with the target business areas to manage the necessary process changes. Implementing technology is easy, ensuring it is used effectively is the hard part; CIOs need to become expert change agents. Thirdly, CIOs need to track and measure the benefits which flow from IT investment. A better understanding of where the real value lies (direct or indirect) is essential to build credibility within the business as a whole and ensure that IT investment is focused in the right places.     What are the traits needed to be a CIO? CIOs need to think strategically and have a full understanding of the company’s business model and competitive strategies. Selling and tenaciously managing change though IT systems then become key requirements. What is the most difficult aspect of ICT for your company and why? Fletcher Building is a decentralised, portfolio-styled business, with business units located primarily in New Zealand and Australia, but also Asia, North America and Europe. We consciously trade on our ability to optimise similarities across our business for the benefits that we believe flow from having agile business units focused on their markets and customers. A balancing act, exercised almost daily, is required to maximise these benefits while maintaining the strengths of our decentralised structure. What projects are you working on right now that excite you the most and why?   A key focus for Fletcher Building right now and for the future is how the company can add value to its customers, and their customers, through our IT capability.   How have you accommodated web 2.0 and social networking practices in your IT setup? We have a need to communicate internally across a wide geographical area and collaborate on cross-border projects (in virtual teams). Combine this with our customer focus initiatives and web 2.0 approaches become a key vehicle for delivering our objectives. Some of these initiatives are managed across the company, while others are conceived and executed within an individual business unit. While we use some IT systems to ensure appropriate use of these technologies, we predominately manage their use through policies and good governance practices.   How mobile is your workforce and is this a growing issue for you? Parts of our workforce are very mobile, with the majority of staff travel taking place within the country a business unit operates in. We are, however, an international business which means there is a need for international travel. Our managers expect to be able to communicate, through a variety of mediums, easily and faultlessly.  With one business unit headquartered in England and the Group HQ in Auckland, time differences become a challenge.  Mobile technologies can play a part in solving this. When I talk to the European IT management team we can do so at the office, at home or somewhere in between – for either me or them. Mobile technology options are constantly changing, as are our needs, so this will remain an area of focus for us.

In general, what do you think is the most pressing ICT issue at present? I think in New Zealand the most pressing ITC issue is the availability of skilled staff. What role do you think the government should play in ICT? The government should use policy to create an environment which ensures investment in IT infrastructure and training, and maximises our IT export potential. What is the most exciting thing happening in ICT now? A workforce that has grown up with IT increasingly present in its life, combined with the merge of consumer and business technologies, provides tremendous opportunities for CIOs. The ability to add value to the business through IT has never been greater. This is why Fletcher Building, like a number of businesses around the world, is focusing on how to improve the customer experience though IT. What will be the next big thing in six months’ time? There is no shortage of candidates here. Picking one, I see the iPad as having the potential to revolutionise hand-held computing. By providing a platform for enterprise applications, it could do for the commercial world what the iPhone has done for the consumer.   If you could have one ICT item to make your business run smoothly, what would it be? A better tool for managing and deploying desktop software, thereby reducing maintenance effort and spend, and freeing time and money for a greater focus on business opportunities.   Did you always want to work in IT? Yes, it was my first real job; I loved it from day one and have done ever since.   If you didn’t work in IT, what would you be doing? Something that involves making things – I like to see something tangible for my efforts.