Governance content on Enterprise CIO Forum

Although I have not read the book, I recently read some excerpts from “The SharePoint Governance Manifesto” by Ant Clay.  He is apparently an avid sailor, as am I. 

Clay makes reference to steering a sailboat as being similar to steering SharePoint governance.  In this article I will use a similar analogy but for Project Lifecycle Governance.  You may find our horrific race experience, below, interesting.

In a previous article I proposed a definition for Project Lifecycle Governance (PLG) as:

In certain parts of the world it’s the time of the year when we give and share gifts, celebrate a sense of well-being and acknowledge what we have in our lives. Then we get ready for a whole new year.  Like the song goes, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year,” when enterprises can take a step back, acknowledge what IT has done over the years, and say three simple words: Thank you, IT.

But that is easier said than done. Who exactly do you thank?

I just read an article advocating the creation of a marketing technology office. The suggestion is that channel and customer-facing technologies would be owned by the MTO, the Marketing Technology Office. Frankly this brings me to two conclusions. Let me share those:

IT = Business and Business = IT

At Chevron, CIO Louie Ehrlich took a 10-year view of IT and the business and came up with a three-pronged strategy focusing on prioritization, integration and simplification. In this video interview with Stan Gibson, senior managing editor of the Enterprise CIO Forum, Ehrlich explains how goals and targets were established and met, resulting in a $1 billion positive impact to Chevron over three years. As a result, Ehrlich was named winner of the Enterprise CIO Forum’s Transformational CIO Award.

The Project Lifecycle Governance we are talking about addresses the process from initiation of an IT project to the deployment into production, and the ability to conduct oversight across the entire series of events. 

So what?  Doesn’t everyone do that? You may say.  

In today’s economic, political, and social environment, customers are demanding the security of their information, as the concern about privacy and identity theft rises. Business partners, suppliers, and vendors are requiring security from one another, especially when they provide mutual network and information access. National and international regulators are asking enterprises to prove that they obey privacy laws and implement high-security measures.

Cloud computing has steadily evolved based upon service orientation principles.

Like the cobbler’s children. who lack shoes, most IT departments lack the expertise for managing the business of IT itself. IT departments can boast of long experience automating business processes, in this function or that, but when it comes to automating the governance and business management of IT there is no ERP in place. Those chickens seem to be coming home to roost. IT is asked more frequently to explain the business value it provides to the organization as a whole and a very clear demonstration of the financial value of IT is expected in the answer.

Security and privacy, not surprisingly, tops the list of cocnerns with cloud adoption. That's according to the attached IDC Research Services survey conducted on behalf of HP. Number two is compliance and governance security followed by identity and access management. As enterprises move to the cloud, about half will rely on outside firms or groups outside of IT to address security. Check out this survey and find what your peers are concernced about when it comes to cloud adoption.   

Download Cloud_Quick_Poll(3 11 12).pdf