In this time of potential economic downturn what is the role of the CIO?

As you would expect I don’t think there is a specific answer other than it depends?
In some businesses where the impact may be higher due to reduced sales then the emphasis for the CIO will be on cost reduction whilst others even in a downturn may be investing, in preparation for an upturn in the future. In that case some prudence may still be expected and all non essentials projects cut back just leaving the new investment. Of course some businesses prosper in a downturn and are not impacted.
The position of the business is key and the CIO needs to be close to what is happening so that they can feel any pain and be able to react early. The role of the CIO should be of a business leader and it is an opportunity to show support for the cause and be proactive rather than wait for the edicts to come from above. Early intervention might even remove later difficulties or loss of the wrong projects. IT is often viewed as a money drain and there is not a great perception or realisation of the cost of keeping it running or Business as Usual so being proactive and showing what can and can’t be done and why, could be the answer.
So lets assume CIO’s are going to be proactive, where do they start? Although we are going to talk about savings, that is not the only answer and it may be that there are initiatives that support or enhance the sales or services that would increase revenue, so bringing these to market early could be a winner. The company is probably looking for quick answers and not something that will happen in 12 months time although that may be welcome as a second tier.
CIO’s should also be wary that they don’t do something they may regret later. Making a quick decision on cost cutting without considering the impact could cost twice as much later or even lose a competitive position.
The CIO therefore needs to identify savings, when they can be achieved, the impact and risk of carrying them out. Conversation would need to be had internally as some of the savings identified may impact another director or head of a department who could resist and react badly to the proposal. It doesn’t mean it should not go ahead in the proposal but the reason for rejection would need to be noted.
If IT is outsourced then the CIO may have some contractual issues but it is still worth talking to the supplier to see what they think can be achieved. It should be in their interest to help in the good and the bad times. Even in that situation there may be projects which don’t fall under the terms of the contract and therefore candidates for this exercise.
Because of the diverse nature of companies and their IT set up, it is not possible in this article to be specific on cost savings and there are plenty of articles where that has been done but as a help I would like to offer up a number of words that hopefully will help to get an exercise underway.

The sentence could start, “What can I ……” and the words are:-

Cancel, Centralise, Consolidate, Delay, Downsize, Find, Offshore, Outsource, Reduce, Renegotiate, Standardise.

One of those words which may need a little more explanation is “what can I find?” This is more about hidden costs and thinking where these may be. Hidden costs are often costs that were introduced several years ago and since that time there have been changes and the current costs do not now reflected those changes. One example would be maintenance of software licences where there may be less people using the system than initially purchased but the supplier has not been told and therefore the annual maintenance is based on the original number. There are a number of similar scenarios in this arena which are all worthy of investigation.

Once completed the CIO would present his findings to the board with appropriate recommendations and because of the proactive nature and affinity with what is happening in the business this exercise should increase his value in the eyes of fellow directors.

The final and perhaps the most important ongoing role will be managing the expectations of his team particularly the morale if projects are stopped or delayed.