While governance may be the newest challenge for CIOs, it’s also a logical next step, given the central role IT plays in meeting legal requirements and regulatory mandates. While some CIOs may view governance as yet another onerous chore, smart CIOs will instead see it as a way to earn an important seat at the executive table.

First, Prioritize
Many CIOs are also adopting Project and Portfolio Management (PPM) as a way to plan, manage, measure and prioritize IT projects across the enterprise. Once this combination of governance and PPM is in place, it’s only a small step to then apply change management and financial management principles. Doing so can ensure that IT investments deliver as intended and can be managed effectively. This will also allow sufficient flexibility to accommodate change while providing an acceptable level of return to the business.

PPM and IT asset management offer some of the best capabilities for managing risk and costs. These two disciplines provide the IT governance oversight needed to ensure proper resource usage, management of project and program cross-dependencies, and control of contractual obligations and financial investments. When combined with the ITIL ® framework, they can also help CIOs balance the often-conflicting demands of running IT as a business while also aligning IT with business strategy and objectives.

In addition, key ITIL processes—including Service Level Management, Incident and Problem Management, and Change and Configuration Management—provide capabilities CIOs can use to improve service and align IT with the business. These ITIL components can also help CIOs speed IT delivery and control change; measure and pinpoint service level deficiencies, automate service delivery, and focus resources on delivering services and ensuring their health and performance. In addition, these ITIL processes can help CIOs determine how IT relates to IT services — and, for alignment purposes, how those IT services support the business.

But there’s a final factor that is all too frequently overlooked: people. For a company to derive the greatest possible return on its IT investments, it needs a great IT staff. To be sure, CIOs work in a technical profession, but people remain their most valuable asset.

Una O’Neill is the Executive VP and General Manager of CA Services. She is also a member of CA’s Executive Leadership Team.

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