Chuck's Blog

Are CMOs The New CIOs?

A thought-provoking title to an article appeared in Forbes last week, and it got me to thinking once again about newer IT consumption patterns, and how they differ from more familiar ones.

The author used a spate of recent tech acquisitions to make the case that the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) is now driving more than their fair share of IT spend.

Do I think that CMOs are becoming CIOs?  No -- I believe the requried skill set is very different.

But I can make a strong case that smart CIOs might want to start to think of the CMO as their new best friend ...

When Business Leaders Own Their Information

The subject of this post came to me in a rather convoluted manner.

As I began to work more with organizations who are trying to achieve broad analytical proficiency, I started to notice something that at first appeared both unusual and unsettling.

One or more business leaders in the organization would begin to lay strong claims to "owning" their information.  

They were prepared to invest their cycles and resources towards acquiring more and improving the value of what they already had available.  They could be persuaded to share -- depending on circumstances.

While these leaders were moderately polite to others in the organization who were doing the same, they didn't want to be dependent on other groups (including, to a certain extent IT) as they went forward with their information ownership goals.

As I started to see more of this -- including in my own company -- I had to stop and think: is this a good thing, or a bad thing?

And I've come to the conclusion: it's a very good thing indeed.  It's precisely the right behavior, and should be encouraged.

Tales From The Trenches: Changing Your Business Model With Big Data Analytics

The premise -- at a high level -- is easy to understand: the new-found power of predictive analytics has the potential to change the way you do business.

But the devil (as always) is in the details.

Clearly there's a transformation at hand.  

The starting point: a familiar world of historical reporting on events in the past.  The goal state: the ability to better predict (and capitalize on) likely future outcomes.

And getting from Point A to Point B is rarely as seamless and pleasant as you read about :)

To that end, I'm actively studying transformational stories about how organizations are learning to change the way they do business around big data analytics.  

And, as it turns out, EMC Corporation is an excellent example of just such an organization.

Beyond IT: Building Your Digital Business Model

Not too long ago, I introduced the growingly attractive notion of a digital business model -- one that focused on creating content and experiences that customers and partners preferred.  My thanks (once again) to Dr. Peter Weill for introducing this powerful concept.

Since then, I've been quietly looking for stories where abstract theory have become funded projects.

Many of these stories are coming to me via EMC Digital, the boutique consulting specialty within the broader EMC Consulting organization.

And -- at the end of the day -- this particular story illustrates how a combination of innovative thinking and strong leadership can transform the seemingly mundane into a potentially compelling competitive advantage.