A CIO is meant to have a split brain, one that thinks IT and another that thinks business. What we are seeing is failure for IT experts to develop the business brain and therefore unable to have 50% of the skills set required for that position. A read on IT service management will show you how IT can make money. Kindest regards Harry From: Charles Maye <cmaye@ke.nationmedia.com> Date: Mon, 8 Aug 2011 14:17:08 +0300 To: Harry Hare <harry@africanedevelopment.org> Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> Subject: Re: [kictanet] IT posts for full circle Actually, IT on its own cannot create profits. Airtel Kenya has a network that is as good as any. But they are losing cash. Same goes for Telkom Kenya. Africa Online was a great idea born by IT experts. It was ahead of its time and never made money. When a technology is new to the world, it can generate profits. The moment it is duplicated and commoditized and for the rest of its life, it needs another set of skills. That set of skills is what makes organizations select people other than IT experts as CIO¹s. Closer home, part of the many reasons the good doctor is so successful at driving our ICT agenda as a country is because he understands how to make technology connect with our aspirations as a people. I stand to be corrected but I believe the good doctor is not an engineer. Charles Maye From: kictanet-bounces+cmaye=ke.nationmedia.com@lists.kictanet.or.ke [mailto:kictanet-bounces+cmaye=ke.nationmedia.com@lists.kictanet.or.ke] On Behalf Of Agosta Liko Sent: 08 August 2011 13:25 To: Charles Maye Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions Subject: Re: [kictanet] IT posts for full circle Toma About - "Lets face it ICT on its own cannot run or profit an organization" This is not true, Safaricom, Airtel, Access Kenya, Zuku etc etc etc are ALL about IT. It can create mad profits or drive them Look at agency banking - its all about branding, float and a device (android app) ... with that a bank cuts on capex Look at Mobile Money - its all IT, Money moves from one account to the other and there are fees for that For old school corporates - IT is gives massive distribution ... an insurance company does not have to have offices and agents all over the country, all they need is mobile/web interfaces A good CIO is the difference between USD10,000 for SugarCRM and USD3,000,000 for Siebel ... etc etc etc Thanks On Mon, Aug 8, 2011 at 12:05 PM, Thomas Kibui <thomas.kibui@gmail.com> wrote: Initially ICT was considered a necessary cost centre within many organizations. It was usually placed under Operations division or sometimes under the stingy Finance division to control its cost. Lets face it ICT on its own cannot run or profit an organization. It is a business enabler and unless the ICT division within an organization is able to show the management of that organization that it can operate as a profit centre and actually generate tangible profits OR at least reduce the cost or making profit within other divisions , .. it will never have say in the organization. Bottom line .. the shareholders want "profits" Another line of argument that I have heard inside a board room is that .. most of what the ICT team refer to as "ICT Technology" are actually "nice to have" gizmos e.g. iPADs.. But I have reservation about this argument .. simply because those who were saying it were fidgeting with their blackberries ... _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Unsubscribe or change your options at http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/agostal%40gmail.com The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development. KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications. 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To get all breaking news alerts send the word BREAK to 6667 or visit http://mobile.nation.co.ke to read news on your mobile phone. _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Unsubscribe or change your options at http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/harry%40africanedevelop ment.org The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development. KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.