Indian CIOs learnt strategy lessons from recession

By SiliconIndia | Thursday, January 5, 2012

Several Indian CIOs have learned strategy lessons from the Great Recession. First of all, it has made it clear that most Indian CIOs need to plan their projects much in advance and not just on a yearly basis. Also, the CIOs must work with limited resources to maintain a low operating expense.

"The economy doesn't go into recession overnight, so every year's first day of April is not the time for CIOs to decide how much money they will need for implementing their projects," Anwer Bagdadi, an independent IT consultant, stressing the need to plan ahead, told SearchCIO,in. Bagdadi recommends they should prioritize tasks in such a way that those of utmost importance are dealt with first. Projects that will not have an immediate impact, or those that can wait till the CIO is given some more room as far as the timelines and the budget is concerned, need to be put on the back-burner. Bagdadi also strongly recommends resisting marketing gimmicks of vendors during recessionary times. He says, "Every solution should be evaluated thoroughly, and implemented only if it makes sense for the organization."

The next lesson for most CIOs is the importance of aligning IT projects to business strategy. Experience has taught CIOs like Manish Choksi of Asian Paints that in the case of projects having business impact, that is, if there are some business deliverable that need support from an IT solution, the IT project needs to work hand-in-hand with the business to enable them to release the deliverable within the given time-frame.

CIOs must clearly understand the objectives and constraints that they work under. Every project should have a quantifiable benefit. Elements of surprise that spring from the CIO's desk are not well received in tough times, and CIOs need to be diligent about their planning. "In our company, where cash is king, every single expense is going to be scrutinized," says Prashant Cherukuri, the Chief Delivery Officer of IT services for Aditya Birla Minacs.

As organizations get more mature, the IT and the business budgets are integrated. Through the course of the year, the business very closely monitors every project's progress, and so CIOs cannot be frivolous.

Cherukuri also believes in building relationships with the business, especially during tough times. He feels that the business often inclines towards seeking outside help, rather than trust its own IT department, due to the lack of trust.

Also, maintaining employee morale is important. Projects start off with a certain amount of resources, but testing times could put a strain. Cherukuri recommends being frank and honest about the current situation with the employees is the best course in such scenarios.