To support their organizations' global initiatives, IT leaders are relying on a variety of technology solutions. Among the most important, the survey finds, are network and end-point security. These solutions were cited by more than 80 percent of respondents as being either "most important" or "somewhat important" for global competition.

Other technologies that play a significant role in globalization efforts include collaboration tools, teleconferencing, network and storage consolidation and virtualization, remote infrastructure management, business intelligence/decision support tools, cost-effective storage, unified communications, wireless computing and mobile applications, risk management tools and multilingual content management tools.

Nortel, for one, uses many of these technologies, Clement says. For example, the company can deploy end-point security to quickly contain the impact of any computer viruses and other malware that are sent to attack the Nortel systems. Also, with Nortel's global workforce, collaboration tools and teleconferencing are essential to sharing information and working together regardless of location, Clement says.

Nortel IT is also consolidating storage and using virtual servers to both ease support requirements and reduce costs. "This links closely to our remote infrastructure management strategy, which enables us to provide 24x7 support centrally using a follow-the-sun support model," Clement says. The model requires fewer resources, costs less and improves quality because support personnel are working during normal working hours. "This means less on-call or overtime pay, and support providers are more alert and thinking more clearly than they would be if they had to address an issue after being awakened from sleep," Clement says.

At Novartis Consumer Health, CIO Meyers relies heavily on teleconferencing for his global operations due to time-zone differences between North America, Europe and Asia. "We have very small windows of time in which to conduct effective team meetings," he says. "This means we often need shorter, more frequent meetings, rather than the traditional three-hour staff meeting or half-day strategy reviews." For these shorter meetings, he adds, teleconferencing is ideal.

The Novartis IT team is also exploring new collaborative technologies, such as high-definition videoconferencing and Web conferencing with webcams. "With the rising cost of business travel, we have to think of a better way to connect global teams," Meyers comments.

Sharper Skills
IT leaders also feel the need to enhance some of their own professional skills to cope with global efforts. For example, nearly 70 percent of survey respondents say they need to significantly enhance their understanding of business issues. Other areas in need of improvement include leadership skills, technical skills, operational skills, vertical-industry knowledge, and investment and financial skills. Meyers of Novartis says the skill most often overlooked when building a global organization is multicultural awareness. "Because many people have not managed others outside their culture before, there is a huge learning curve regarding how different cultures deal with risk, uncertainty, chain of command and project management," he says.

To gain these new skills, IT executives plan to seek advice and training in several areas, the survey finds. The areas cited most frequently are investment and financial skills, technical skills and vertical-industry knowledge. They plan to acquire these enhanced skills mainly with help from professional publications (including magazines and journals), colleagues and peers, industry events and webcasts, consultants, online training, and university and continuing education courses. Regardless of how IT executives gain these skills, it's vital that they continue to expand their horizons. Only in this way can CIOs help lead their organizations into an increasingly globalized business environment.

Bob Violino is a freelance writer in Massapequa Park, N.Y. He covers a variety of business and technology topics.