The IT Revolution

Well, well,well … the IT Revolution ishere.  Who knew?  Well, CIOs did, of course.  It really feels that way anyway. 

The ConstitutionI was theaccidental recipient of an email this week. It was about me, but not intended for me.  Basically, the writer of the email said, “Canyou believe it; she is trying to takeover our meeting?”  Well, excuse the heck out of me for trying tohelp by offering my conference room.  It’sno surprise that a CareerBliss.Com survey reveals that thisjob is rated the worst. 

 But, it’s notime to whine about how hard the gig is. It’s really time for CIOs to perhaps take on the same role as ourfounding fathers did during the infancy of our government.  It wasn’t easy back then, and it’s not easynow for CIOs to lead in times of change, stay focused on mission, and implementthe right changes in their IT Governance to establish perfect unions. 

After theAmerican Revolution, our government was basically in a big mess.  There was no money and threats were allaround us – the unknowns of a western frontier, pirates threatening marinecommerce, and an unhappy motherland back across the pond.  Furthermore, the citizens in the nascent countrystill wanted to feel the benefit of their new independence and the resourcesavailable were meager. 

Citizensback then, were concerned about having a government that was focused on itscitizens and ensured that “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” wouldmaintain its strategic importance.  Havingjust recovered from the centralized rule of a monarchy, the notion of afederation that would “provide for the common defense, promote the generalwelfare, and secure the blessings of liberty” was now an absolute right. 

In the IT Revolution, we see the same thingshappening.  The Bring Your Own Device(BYOD) craze, gives us IT citizens who want the freedom of accessing data withany device they want, anywhere they want, and any time they want it.  Furthermore, the cyber threats are increasingbeyond anyone’s individual ability to provide a credible defense.  

The Officeof Management and Budget (OMB) is asking its Federal CIOs to be the foundingmothers and fathers of this IT Revolutionin supporting a DigitalGovernment Strategy, a cross-cutting Cybersecurity Strategy, andframing cost-saving strategies that leverage cloudcomputing and smartconsolidation 

Yes, the IT Revolution is here.  It calls for a new IT Governance that is ofthe end-users, by the end-users, and for the end-users.  It requires CIOs to lead with courage,emotional intellect, and political resolve to give the people they serve whatthey really want and need. 

LindaCureton CIO, NASA