So we have a set of enterprises which are in the need for such a service and there are quite a few CIOs and other IT service organizations that are ready with this service offering. Since the market for this service has not developed yet, this match between the demand and the supply has not taken great shape. There are two ways of looking at this opportunity – one that the demand for this service is not developed and hence there is a need for stimulating demand; and the other, that the supply of this service has not matured enough for the market to grow. Let us look at both these factors.

Developing the market

While a few organizations do feel the need for such a facility, most others are not even aware of such a possibility. They are wary of engaging with consulting organizations and do not trust technology vendors to play a neutral role. It is therefore important for providers of this service to increase awareness among their target customers and make them believe that such an arrangement could really benefit them. This can be done through publicity (distributing pamphlets or direct mailers), advertisement (in specific magazines), arranging seminars or associating with industry associations (like CII, FICCI, SIAM, etc.). Cold calls by individuals do not really work as the contacted CEO is suspicious and takes it to be another case of aimless selling. There are quite a few CIOs who have been pursuing this market individually but it would make a lot of sense for them to get together and think of ways to market this concept collectively. I would not be surprised if we see the formation of something like a ‘virtual CIOs guild’ that serves the role like NASSCOM does for IT software and service companies.

Supply side constraints

One of the main factors for the development of any market is the availability of adequate resources to service that demand. For the services that we are talking about, this factor is still to take proper shape. I have seen individual professionals as CIOs vigorously pursuing this opportunity on their own and though a few have formed organizations, they do not have enough resources to service the need. There are also IT service providers who have been trying to sew together an offering by getting a few CIOs to be on their panel. However, there is still not a formal service delivery model and the scope of each engagement is drawn up on the basis of negotiation between the CIO and the client. There is perhaps a need for forming an organization which can have on their Board several CIOs with specializations in specific industry segments or technologies, and also have CIOs at various levels of seniority. For example we can have a senior level CIO operating at the strategic level for the client organization and have a less senior person filling up to supervise at the operational level. It would not be inappropriate to suggest that the ‘virtual CIOs guild’ helps develop models or standards of quality and delivery – that will really help credibility to this service.

We have to be aware that some services of this nature have hitherto been provided by consulting organizations that are more organized and mature. It is therefore necessary for the proponents of this idea to get together to develop and grow this market.

• As an assessor

Here the CEO wants the CIO to come and review the entire operations, point out things that are in order and those that are not, prepare a report, and also specify the budget for the next one year. The need arises because the CEO may often be irked by frequent requests for spends on IT and is not sure if the IT is headed in the right direction. If CEO is satisfied with the CIO-engagement, he may ask the CIO to come over again after six months and assess if the IT tasks are running as per plan and to make a revised budget based on progress till then.

• As an advisor

Here the CEO may not be dissatisfied with IT, but is still not happy enough and wants IT to acquire a proper direction. He therefore asks his CIO friend to act as an advisor and be a member of the IT steering committee which may meet once in a month or so. The CIO is expected to either present a status report or join in the review of various projects and present his opinion as an expert. Wherever necessary, he can ask the advisor CIO to undertake special study or seek some involvement in a specific project. This can work well with the part time CIO devoting only as much time as is required by the organization.

• As an advisor cum reviewer

The need of the organization is somewhat different here. There is no IT manager in play and therefore the whole IT program has no direction and the function has the limited role of maintaining the infrastructure and developing a few miscellaneous applications. The CEO wants the external CIO to advise the company on the road map for IT and also regularly review the working of the function to ensure the processes and delivery mechanisms are properly managed. For this the CIO may have to spend a fixed number of days, say two days a week to monitor the progress on various projects. He is not expected to manage the day-to-day operations but is expected to put systems in place, define performance parameters, and monitor them every week.

• As a CIO, almost

Some companies have very little or no confidence in their IT team and therefore want someone to take over the entire responsibility. They look for a senior professional who has been a CIO to advise them on IT and also help manage the show. The CIO then spends some time to assess the requirements and then posts his own person to devote two or three days in a week to ensure that operations are smooth. The CIO does a periodic review and reports to the management and the company staff reports to him.

Which option is the best?
This depends entirely on the company’s requirement and plans. The objective here is to use the right resource and in optimal measure so that the plans of the organization are met. Being a new facility which has recently gathered momentum, I am not quite sure which model is setting the trend but from my recent interactions it seems the option 3, ‘advisor cum reviewer’ is getting some traction. It is up to the CIOs and IT service providers to develop this market and make the offering more attractive.

Jargon explained

‘CIO on Demand’ refers specifically to the services that can be made available to a host of small and medium organizations who struggle with their IT program. These organizations have difficulty in getting good IT managers and even if they manage to grab a worthy professional, he leaves them soon as he spots greener pastures. They cannot afford to appoint consulting houses to run their IT programs as it gets a little too expensive. In such circumstances they make do with a low level IT officer who just operates and manages the IT set up.

Many of these companies have ambitious plans of growth and also have the next generation of owners/ directors at the helm who are not shy of technology. The managements here want more out of IT and feel terribly constrained in the absence of right people required to run and manage the show. These organizations may be at different levels of IT maturity but most of them wish that their IT had better direction and wonder if the money spent on IT is right.

How can this be addressed?

These companies cannot afford consulting houses neither are they sure about the complete outsourcing of the IT function as advocated by some IT service organizations. They cannot also recruit and retain senior IT managers. They can however look for senior IT professionals (ex-CIOs), those who have either retired and are available for consulting or CIOs who have left their regular job to become freelance consultants. Instead of a full time engagement, they can devote time as much as is necessary to guide the IT program to fulfill management needs & expectations. Such a service has not yet gained ground yet and many of the users organizations are not aware nor have not examined this option. Such services are however affordable.

Who is talking about this concept?

I have seen some hardware and software vendors exploring this option in an effort to place one of their chosen persons there, a few experienced CIOs who have a contract or two, a few CIOs who want to kick their jobs and want to start off on their own, or IT service firms who suddenly have sensed this as an opportunity and are building their portfolio by trying to string in a few CIOs available.

Is the going easy?

It is perhaps not that easy. Many have spoken to me wondering how to tap such opportunities. This kind of service is new and no one seems to have clear answers. Some say they want to create a portal offering free counseling to attract customers, some speak about building a team or a panel of CIOs and then publicize through mailers or through a special site, some plan to add this as a strength on offer to the firm’s profile and I have also heard of a few CIOs coming together to form a loose association thus offering varied expertise related to specific industry segments or technology areas.

If we are confident that this service has potential, then, in my opinion, companies that fall into this segment should be educated and made aware of such a service being available. One way could be to tie-up with industry associations and spread awareness through them, or one can arranging seminars where business heads from these participate. Advantages could be two-fold; these companies can derive benefit from such as a service and at the same time useful resource available in the community can be utilized.