Saturday, June 14, 2008

Finally I'm Done!!!


I have added my final research paper called "Transformation of the CIO" to the MMIS 620 page on my Wiki at mmis.pbwiki.com , please feel free to read and leave comments, I worked hard on it and would love to get some feedback!



What happening to CIOs? Want to find out more ... read on.


Here's the abstract:


"Changes in the technology and the broader skill set of most non-technical managers have created a situation where CIOs are being pressured to move beyond their comfort zone. Availability of new technology is making it easier for users to adopt their own IT solution quickly and effortlessly, and business managers and CEOs are becoming more technical, this combination is forcing CIOs to take a closer look at business and how to become better business leaders with an IT edge."


Enjoy!

Monday, June 9, 2008

CIO's Find Help on the Outside

CIO's are struggling with tight budget and tall orders. Most innovative executives are finding creative ways to do more with less $$. Software-as-a-service (or SAAS) can help in that regards, the vendors who provide these services can cut your costs, expedite your implementations time, and have your up and running in no time. You're IT dept can't compete with the vendor's resources and specialized expertise, after all that's all they do - provide software as a service. However every CIO must appraoch with caution, there are service level agreements and contractual pitfalls that must be navigated carefully otherwize the deal may go sour. Security risks and data privacy is another area of caution with outside vendors, the bottom line is "proceed with caution and excercise due dilligence".

Saturday, May 3, 2008

Deliverable Set A [aka assign-6]

MMIS 620 Management Information Systems
Deliverable Set A [aka assign-6] (50 points MAX)

STUDENT NAME: Abdulhayy Johnson

DATE: 5/3/2008

Topic: Topic # 2 - The role of the CIO in planning at all levels.

Blog: http://mmis620.blogspot.com/

Title: Evolution of the Chief Information Officer







TABLE OF CONTENTS


STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM................................... 2
Statement of the Problem................................................. 2
Solution ............................................................................. 2
Relevance........................................................................... 2
Expectation for Practice................................................... 2
OUTLINE........................................................................... 2
REFERENCE LIST............................................................ 2


STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Statement of the Problem:
The evolving role of the Chief Information Officer has been under attack from multiple angles (Evans, 2007) in the organization, from above and from below. There is much pressure in the industry to have the role conform more to the traditional business focus on increasing revenue and cutting costs.
Solution:
The modern CIO has little choice if he or she is to survive in today’s corporate environment; IT goals must be totally aligned with business goals. One way to accomplish that is outsourcing. John DeBenedette, VP of Technology for Inttra Systems, predicted the CIO of the future will be “an IT executive who knows how to buy IT as a service” (Soat, 2007).
Relevance:
Today’s CIO’s define the future of IT. They provide the organizational leadership and direction for information technology in government, business and industry. It is an important role that has a significant impact on the direction and status of IT.
Expectation for Practice:
CIO’s are more likely to shift focus from in-house development to a more outsourced approach where lower cost internet based services play a more significant role.

OUTLINE
· Statement of the Problem
· Solution
· Relevance
· Expectation for Practice

REFERENCE LIST

Evans, B., (2007, September 17). Tipping point: Are CIOs disappearing?
InformationWeek, 154(1), p.158.

Soat, J., (2007, September 10). Goodbye, corporate IT; hello chief negotiator.
InformationWeek, 153(1), p.14.

Saturday, April 26, 2008

Are CIO's an endangered species?

Wow, sounds a bit surreal! But truthfully there's a bit of politics in everything and espcially in large organizations when it comes to power, pay, job titles and org structures. So it's no surprise that the CIO has to fight like anyone else to justify his or her position in the company, and above all to demonstrate that IT is a revenue source and not an expense. Now let me see ... what's that CTO up to? I'll have to find out and get back to you.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Changing Topics

I'm a little frustrated, there's not much reading material out there on my topic of choice so I think I'll find another topic. I've been reading lately of the evolving role of the CIO accross different industries and it seems to me that I should have no trouble finding several good articles and reference material. This is definitely something people are "talking" about. More on this later.

Oh yeah ... another major hot topic these days is Web 2.0, but I'm reserving that for my other class (MMIS 621)

Saturday, April 19, 2008

Found a Great Topic for R&D Project!

I just found a very curious and interesting topic for my R&D project while researching the preapproved topics (Topic #18). What cought my attention was the way two of the methodologies (different strategies) were being applied together to break new boundaries in artificail intelligence (particularly in data mining). The technology I refer to is known as Neuro-Fuzzy System (NFS) and combines techniques from Fuzzy Logic and Artificial Neural Networks to allow a software program to demonstrate human-like reasoning. Sounds like something from the Matrix!