My comment would be that the headline is wrong, although the question is a good one. If a CFO thinks it’s a “tech project,” you have already lost the battle for funding.

I am making a distinction between a “tech project” (e.g., let’s restructure or upgrade the server farm or switch from Sage to Epicor AP software to save IT OPEX or some such thing) vs. a “business project” (e.g., let’s change the business process flow for supply chain automation to better serve customers and/or speed up capital turn). The second type of project can be either for costs savings or revenue enhancement and still get management approval if otherwise makes business sense.

Dennis is absolutely correct. And I should have noted it a few weeks ago.

The best CIOs I know talk about business projects (or programs) which are IT enabled. The idea is simple but is often politically charged. Many CIOs have to bet their job in the first few weeks with a new company to make the point.

Several CIOs whom I respect, shut down projects in the absence of an Executive Sponsor with personal responsibility for the business case. Eventually all of the projects were restarted. The Executive Sponsor agreed to include harvesting the benefits into his/her annual performance objectives. And even though the CIOs had a few tough weeks they all kept their job

Message was edited by: Bart Perkins