IT organizations struggling to keep up with technology changes, business changes, and expectations have taken a step back to say "What can we do different? " You see, the struggle is to have your staff deal with day to day operations, yet keep up with all these other forces - not to mention project work.
That is where many CIO's have split IT Operations into different focus teams, and that my friend is where Architecture comes into the organization. Let the IT Delivery Team focus on Operations, and let the Architecture Team focus on new technology, business capability demands, and excellence. There is a 3rd leg to this IT stool - and that is Security. Security should not be part of operations, nor should it be part of Architecture. The Director of Security in most organizations should report direct to the CIO. Now, before anyone is jumping off their chair, there are organizational needs that would dictate the Security Team reports up through Audit, Legal or CFO. It would be a organizational need or regulatory requirement. In most organizations, the CIO can oversee the Security Team.
So, in my opinion the Architecture team is a great deal, and brings strategy, direction, and alignment to the business for the IT Organization. Having your delivery team focused on Operational Excellence is a great deal as well. It will be equally important that the management leaders from these 2 teams stay connected, engaged and meeting on a regular basis. To many times I have seen them start to pull apart and go in different directions, down to where the delivery team starts to hire their own architecture staff. This can't turn into 2 different IT departments, it is 1 department with 2 focused teams. The CTO or CIO will need to ensure they work together and have regular meetings. In some organizations, this turns into staff career paths and opportunities to grow. Which is a good thing all the way around.
I have a few request to talk about the financial impacts of these organizational changes. I will do that soon. Till then -
Keep it positive!
Scott Arnett
scott.arnett@charter.net
About Me
- Scott Arnett
- Scott Arnett is an Information Technology & Security Professional Executive with over 30 years experience in IT. Scott has worked in various industries such as health care, insurance, manufacturing, broadcast, printing, and consulting and in enterprises ranging in size from $50M to $20B in revenue. Scott’s experience encompasses the following areas of specialization: Leadership, Strategy, Architecture, Business Partnership & Acumen, Process Management, Infrastructure and Security. With his broad understanding of technology and his ability to communicate successfully with both Executives and Technical Specialists, Scott has been consistently recognized as someone who not only can "Connect the Dots", but who can also create a workable solution. Scott is equally comfortable playing technical, project management/leadership and organizational leadership roles through experience gained throughout his career. Scott has previously acted in the role of CIO, CTO, and VP of IT, successfully built 9 data centers across the country, and is expert in understanding ITIL, PCI Compliance, SOX, HIPAA, FERPA, FRCP and COBIT.
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