Piloting through the records storm: as organizations become more dependent on their information resources and the technologies that create them, such as collaborative work spaces, social media, and mobile devices, information professionals are facing new challenges--and opportunities.

• Author: Dearstyne, Bruce W.

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Chief information officers (CIOs) function in a world that is increasingly complex, volatile, and uncertain because of market and technology changes, environmental issues, and economic instability. This is requiring them to shift their approach to meeting the challenges of finding and acting on relevant information in several ways:

* Information seeking, gathering, and analysis have shifted from secondary, specialized activities in enterprises to constant, priority activities.

* Information is recognized as being essential for productivity and competitive advantage, and there is a need to get it to people who need it, in an actionable form, while it's fresh and applicable.

* Sophisticated data mining and analytics technologies to gain insight into customer behavior, patterns, and trends are growing in importance.

* Social networking technologies have intensified the role of information in collaborative work.

* There is increased pressure on CIOs to carry out projects faster and more economically.

* iPhones and other mobile devices have raised peoples' expectations for being able to receive and transmit information anytime, from any location.

In this environment, CIOs sometimes feel like they are trying to finish building an airplane at the same time they are flying it through turbulent weather. Records and information (RIM) professionals often feel like they are aboard that same plane. But these challenges bring new opportunities for both groups.

New Roles for CIOs

Recent reports and studies suggest several key roles for CIOs:

Contributing to Enterprise Direction

The most dynamic CIOs are not just leaders in IT, information management, or RIM. Rising to an even greater challenge, they also play a key role in developing corporate strategy and provide leadership in leading-edge initiatives. They get involved in creating income streams and help foster innovation in general (e.g., streamlining processes to speed production and save money or adopting and using new technologies to connect employees).

Customers expect increased transparency and responsiveness from companies; CIOs help facilitate those connections. Because managing information gives CIOs insights into operations across the enterprise, they are in a good position to see how things fit together, where policies and processes need improvement, and how information-savvy workers (particularly younger, technologically adept ones) can become more productive and contribute to the organization's products and services.

CIOs are in a particularly good position to recommend, and lead, IT-enabled business transformations. They are accustomed to thinking strategically. They develop strategic plans for their operations that dovetail with the larger plans of their organizations, which ensures that information resources are aligned with and help accelerate enterprise projects and growth initiatives.

"CIOs can be enablers of new directions by testing, fulfilling and measuring the success of new operating models the organization wants to explore," notes IBM's 2010 "Capitalizing on Complexity: Insights from the Global Chief Executive Officer Study." Some recent books and articles liken CIOs to "chief innovation officers," "chief imagination officers," and "chief integration officers."

Leading the Information Management Program

"Hit business goals, seize commercial opportunities" were the top priorities in the CIO Magazine's "2010 State of the CIO Survey." Aligning IT with business goals; applying long-term strategic thinking and planning; collaborating and exerting influence; and change leadership were among the top priorities cited in the study.

Every recent book, report, and study emphasizes...