Why CIOs should embrace a Business-led IT: Q&A with Ed Benson
Summary
Ed Benson is one of those technology leaders who has taken ownership of his own career growth and paved the way for others by acknowledging and embracing these shifts. His experience sitting on both sides of the table gives him unique insights into why and how technology departments and business units need to work together for the benefit of both their organizations and the end-user or customer. The CIO should not only lead the governance and operating models, but work with the business units as partners to ensure that when responsibility does move to the IT group, that the transition is both seamless for the end-user and a benefit for the organization. After we had some early wins, trust began to be built and things moved forward much better, particularly at the Senior level—Senior management saw the benefits and that made it a lot easier to continue down the Business-led IT path. For example, a long email may describe the situation and outline a clear decision that needs to be made, but the business leader may not understand fully, and would likely prefer to have interactive Q & A.