CIOs fail IT projects

Squabbles and lack of communication between CEOs and CIOs cause IT projects to fall apart and the blame falls squarely upon the shoulders of the CIO because they lack the head of a businessman.

Almost 50 per cent of current CIOs will be given their marching orders because they fail to communicate effectively with their CEO according to a report from IT consultants Computer Sciences Corporation.

The report claims that the biggest disputes arise over how CEOs and CIOs interpret technology projects with CIOs often getting bogged down in technical details while CEOs tend to think more laterally.

Steve Barrie, chief analyst with Bloor Research, agrees with the report's conclusion that the onus is on CIOs to put technology into a business context.

CIOs who fail to do this are talking themselves out of a job he warned.

"A CIO shouldn't be too concerned about technical details. There are other people in an organisation to do that. They should be thinking like a CEO. If they can't put technology into a business context then they're in the wrong job," he said.

Petra Cook, policy advisor with the Insitute of Mangement, said that conflicts are more likely to arise at management level because of strong personalities.

But she agreed that CIOs needed to lose the technical jargon when pushing the IT agenda.

"There has to be an across the board perception of the benefits of IT projects. The business case has to be put across in simple language that anyone can understand." she said.