Are CFOs Pushing Out CIOs?

from the not-good dept

How hard is it to balance both sides of a cost-benefit equation? Why does it seem that so many people can only look at one side? During the boom years, when tech spending was crazy, people were only looking at the supposed "benefit" (and even then, not too closely) of spending on technology. The costs never seemed to matter. So, if you were spending $1 for every $0.10 of benefit, no one seemed to question things. Since then, however, things have shifted over to the other extreme, where the only thing companies seem interested in is the "cost". The latest example of this is the notion that the CIO is a doomed position and all technology decisions are going to be made by the CFO. I believe many techies reading that sentence just cringed. CFOs understand the cost side of things, but (usually) aren't knowledgeable enough to understand the benefits. Admittedly, many CIOs tend towards the other direction. However, there does need to be a clear balance. Spending should be justified - but it shouldn't just be about costs. Those who understand the costs and the benefits should get together and weigh both sides to make IT spending decisions.