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Discuss the Evolving Role of the Chief Information Officer (CIO)

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As times have changed so has the role of CIO. The term Chief Information Officer was first used in the 1970’s. Their role was mainly looking after the introduction of new financial systems. These systems were used for invoicing and control of debit and creditors and controlling how the supply chain worked and others areas such as payroll. These systems were complex and the CIO’s spent most of their day getting the systems to work, keeping them working and reducing the costs of the organisation
In the 1980’s the CIO’s job involved overseeing the incorporation and upkeep of somewhat simple but difficult and expensive hardware, software and telecommunications equipment. As organisation started to invest in IT as a strategic option the CIO …show more content…

Today’s CIO needs industry specific knowledge and overall business competence. ROI has become a significant part of the equation. To full discuss the evolving role of the CIO and how they can use Information Technology Portfolio Management to ensure that investments in Information Technology are not wasted? This essay will look at greater detail the eras of the CIO and the technology used by them to achieve the best results.

The title CIO has been used since the late 1970’s early 1980’s. William Synott, who was the senior vice president of the First National Bank of Boston and was a guest speaker at the 1980 Information Management Exposition and Conference (www.cioinsight.com). Synott is generally credited with coining the label “chief information officer” in a speech. Synott defines the CIO as “…the highest ranking executive with primary responsibility for information management” (Synott 1987). Synott said: "The manager of information systems in the 1980s has to be Superman—retaining his technology cape, but doffing the technical suit for a business suit and becoming one of the chief executives of the firm. The job of chief information officer (CIO)—equal in rank to chief executive and chief financial officers—does not exist today, but the CIO will identify, collect, and manage information as a resource, set corporate information policy and affect all office and distributed

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