The CIO's dilemma
Hey all you Chief Information Officers, Do you follow the leaders ( brand loyalty ), find a sector fit (niche ), or build a client/supplier
relationship ( shared outcome ) ?
Sellers of technology based products and services, have traditionally operated on either side
of great divides. -Big or small -Global or local -OEM or reseller -Generic or niche -Component or total system -Product or service based These hard lines of definition have generally not been in the best interests of clients. In the modern client/supplier relationship,only the technology has changed : the conflict to prove whether the client or the supplier has the upperhand in the relationship persists, along with the competition
to see who gets the better of the financial transaction. How could outsourcing, for example, ever work to the satisfaction of both parties ?
He who outsources wants to make increasing revenues from she who is outsourced.
She who is outsourced sees outsourcing as a way to save money. Hey- ho, as they say. How about big versus small ? The giants - Microsoft, HP,SAP, IBM and the like - cater to the broad needs of mass markets.
The pricing of their products reflects the economies of scale, to a lesser or greater extent.
The brand guarantees the client absolution from any criticism of the wisdom of choosing " big'. "Eat shit ; a trillion trillion flies can't be wrong ! " The giants bring the fruit of their vast resources to the market-table through various channel systems.
The nodes in these channel networks sometimes add value, or no value, or negative value.
The likelihood of even a large group of clients being able to influence what the giants produce,
is analogous to the population of East Jesus, Tennessee, being able to persuade Henry's latest descendant to replace the internal combustion engine with mini nuclear reactors, by next week, Friday ! Enter Web 3.0 - Maybe someday, don't hold your breath ! The exclusivity, engineered by the giants to protect their brands and their market share,
spills over into the realm of the smaller suppliers.
" Niche " suggests specialisation,focused attention on well specified needs from individual market
sectors.
But often the " niche " is revealed to be a crack in the giant's offering, into which has fallen the financial resources of unwary suppliers, who then disappear ; taking with them the forlorn hopes of clients who were anticipating some "eureka - like " answer to an age - old question, " How do I get a halfway decent return on my IT investment ? " The attraction of the "brand " option, is that lots of people go that route ; the downside is the endless frustration of disappointed expectations. The attraction of the 'niche " or ' boutique " supplier, is that, over time, there is a chance that the client
will get what they want : the downside is the time and effort that it takes to get the desired outcome, and the uncertainty that the " niche " supplier will still be there at the end of the process. Now enters the panacea of open source systems.
The great proposition, "Get it for free, and then adapt it 'til it suits you "
Sounds fantastic !! It is.
The fantasy lies in anybody imagining that they can read another person's mind,without a manual,
and then graft their own thinking on to it.
Of course there are some geeks who are very good at this,but for the rest of us who need guidance through the technology maze,the exit to our seemingly endless trauma continues to elude us. So, how does a CIO make the choice between going for the promises held out by the " brands " or searching for the supplier who knows enough, and is prepared to learn enough, about a client, so that they can provide what is really needed ?
Particularly when said supplier may be in a vendor channel, and therefore struggling with the "brand" straitjacket. The answer to this dilemma seems to lie in a constantly ignored alternative - the shared outcome. Two thing mitigate against this alternative - power and greed. For a genuine sharing to take place,there needs to be equitable influence,authority and financial gain.
This entails a softening of the hard line between client and supplier.
The more that both parties understand the situation being addressed, and what it takes to handle it optimally, the more likely it is that answers will be found quickly and implemented effectively. We are then back to the basis of relationships, "People do business with people, and they prefer to do business with people they like and trust "
-irrespective of the complexities of technology and the electronic environment. Who said it would be easy ? Can it work ? In every other area of life, issues managed in strong supportive relationships,produce outcomes that benefit both parties. Why not in relationships built around the use of IT ? Did any CIO ever think that they would be told that the answer to their unyielding supplier selection dilemma would be, " FIND YOURSELF SOMEBODY TO LOVE !?! " Finally, contemplate the " 5 Chapter Autobiography of a CIO " 1 I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk,
I fall in.
I am lost... I am hopeless.
It isn't my fault.
It takes forever to find a way out. 2 I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend I don't see it.
I fall in again.
I can't believe I'm in the same place.
But it isn't my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out. 3 I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it is there.
I still fall in...it is a habit.
My eyes are open
I know where I am
It is my fault
I get out immediately. 4 I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk round it. 5 I walk down another street. Adapted from a poem by Portia Nelson, quoted in Charles L. Whitfield, M.D. "Healing the Child Within "
relationship ( shared outcome ) ?
Sellers of technology based products and services, have traditionally operated on either side
of great divides. -Big or small -Global or local -OEM or reseller -Generic or niche -Component or total system -Product or service based These hard lines of definition have generally not been in the best interests of clients. In the modern client/supplier relationship,only the technology has changed : the conflict to prove whether the client or the supplier has the upperhand in the relationship persists, along with the competition
to see who gets the better of the financial transaction. How could outsourcing, for example, ever work to the satisfaction of both parties ?
He who outsources wants to make increasing revenues from she who is outsourced.
She who is outsourced sees outsourcing as a way to save money. Hey- ho, as they say. How about big versus small ? The giants - Microsoft, HP,SAP, IBM and the like - cater to the broad needs of mass markets.
The pricing of their products reflects the economies of scale, to a lesser or greater extent.
The brand guarantees the client absolution from any criticism of the wisdom of choosing " big'. "Eat shit ; a trillion trillion flies can't be wrong ! " The giants bring the fruit of their vast resources to the market-table through various channel systems.
The nodes in these channel networks sometimes add value, or no value, or negative value.
The likelihood of even a large group of clients being able to influence what the giants produce,
is analogous to the population of East Jesus, Tennessee, being able to persuade Henry's latest descendant to replace the internal combustion engine with mini nuclear reactors, by next week, Friday ! Enter Web 3.0 - Maybe someday, don't hold your breath ! The exclusivity, engineered by the giants to protect their brands and their market share,
spills over into the realm of the smaller suppliers.
" Niche " suggests specialisation,focused attention on well specified needs from individual market
sectors.
But often the " niche " is revealed to be a crack in the giant's offering, into which has fallen the financial resources of unwary suppliers, who then disappear ; taking with them the forlorn hopes of clients who were anticipating some "eureka - like " answer to an age - old question, " How do I get a halfway decent return on my IT investment ? " The attraction of the "brand " option, is that lots of people go that route ; the downside is the endless frustration of disappointed expectations. The attraction of the 'niche " or ' boutique " supplier, is that, over time, there is a chance that the client
will get what they want : the downside is the time and effort that it takes to get the desired outcome, and the uncertainty that the " niche " supplier will still be there at the end of the process. Now enters the panacea of open source systems.
The great proposition, "Get it for free, and then adapt it 'til it suits you "
Sounds fantastic !! It is.
The fantasy lies in anybody imagining that they can read another person's mind,without a manual,
and then graft their own thinking on to it.
Of course there are some geeks who are very good at this,but for the rest of us who need guidance through the technology maze,the exit to our seemingly endless trauma continues to elude us. So, how does a CIO make the choice between going for the promises held out by the " brands " or searching for the supplier who knows enough, and is prepared to learn enough, about a client, so that they can provide what is really needed ?
Particularly when said supplier may be in a vendor channel, and therefore struggling with the "brand" straitjacket. The answer to this dilemma seems to lie in a constantly ignored alternative - the shared outcome. Two thing mitigate against this alternative - power and greed. For a genuine sharing to take place,there needs to be equitable influence,authority and financial gain.
This entails a softening of the hard line between client and supplier.
The more that both parties understand the situation being addressed, and what it takes to handle it optimally, the more likely it is that answers will be found quickly and implemented effectively. We are then back to the basis of relationships, "People do business with people, and they prefer to do business with people they like and trust "
-irrespective of the complexities of technology and the electronic environment. Who said it would be easy ? Can it work ? In every other area of life, issues managed in strong supportive relationships,produce outcomes that benefit both parties. Why not in relationships built around the use of IT ? Did any CIO ever think that they would be told that the answer to their unyielding supplier selection dilemma would be, " FIND YOURSELF SOMEBODY TO LOVE !?! " Finally, contemplate the " 5 Chapter Autobiography of a CIO " 1 I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk,
I fall in.
I am lost... I am hopeless.
It isn't my fault.
It takes forever to find a way out. 2 I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend I don't see it.
I fall in again.
I can't believe I'm in the same place.
But it isn't my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out. 3 I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it is there.
I still fall in...it is a habit.
My eyes are open
I know where I am
It is my fault
I get out immediately. 4 I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk round it. 5 I walk down another street. Adapted from a poem by Portia Nelson, quoted in Charles L. Whitfield, M.D. "Healing the Child Within "
