How has the last year-or-so been for you? Have you spent time with your head done in the IT department, managing and implementing the latest technology system? Or have you been more adventurous and moved beyond the confines of IT?
I’ve spoken to a number of CIOs recently who have suggested that they now spend more time with the head of marketing than ever before. But why?
A company that use IT successfully is an engaged business. Your customers now have numerous ways to offer feedback, and influence others, on how your company is perceived. Rather than just a letter of complaint to the marketing department, disgruntled customers can fire off a blog or a tweet.
The means to successfully manage and monitor that engagement is technical. While the marketing department understands the fluff, the IT experts understand the huff – in other words they know, or really need to know – how the technology of social media works.
This confluence of IT and mobility provides a fantastic opportunity for the CIO, particularly as mobile computing becomes the de facto way for consumers to stay engaged.
In a new report, researcher Forrester says the boundary between business and the consumer – which has been steadily eroding since the advent of the PC – will completely disappear through the “App Internet” market. With it could come the rise of the chief mobility officer, who Forrester suggest will be responsible for managing App Internet efforts that span the call centre, customer service, marketing, e-commerce, and IT.
Maybe – or maybe this is just the new land grab for the CIOs? CIOs worry that their career is over; with the rise of marketing and mobility, it could in fact only just be beginning. As Avis CIO Adam Gerrard tweeted earlier: “Interesting concept – marketing role or IT?”
The answer, I would suggest, is both – and now is the time for the CIO to step up. What do you think? Is there now a greater level of interaction between marketing and IT, and what do such relationships mean for the future of the CIO?
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