Electronics manufacturer Flextronics also has an IT supergroup thatconsists of the CFO, the COO and the presidents of the company'sdifferent business units and functions. Because Singapore-basedFlextronics' margins are so thin2 percent to 3 percent on averagethegroup focuses on using IT to support and enforce a set of commonpractices in the company's core processes of planning, manufacturingand global distribution. MicrosoftMicrosoft wants Flextronics to build itsX-Box game console with the same speed, efficiency and quality inChina as it does in Mexico. "We need to provide global consistency,"says Mike Webb, Flextronics' senior vice president of informationtechnology. "That is a fundamental part of our business." Alles zu Microsoft auf CIO.de

Such a clear message from the business's top leaders makes Webb's jobmuch easier. For example, Flextronics' quest for consistency drivesWebb to go really deep on the architecture piece of governance. Thecompany has a single version of all its major software platforms thatit installs around the world. Webb even has a staff of 60 fullydedicated in-house consultants who drop in like commandos to set upthe infrastructure at a new plant. Control is so tight from Webb's120-person corporate group (800 IT people worldwide) that when Webbships a router to a new factory, it has already been configured andtested by his corporate group.

Of course, even at companies that place as high a value on technologyas Flextronics and State Street, top executives have other things todo besides meeting about IT, so Webb and Fiore must be like rock androll managers, keeping egos under control and minimizing fighting andboredom. Before leaving, Fiore already had seen a backlash against thedepth and complexity of the IT discussions in the committee meetings.He reduced the size of the committee from 22 to 10 and rejiggered itsmission to focus more on business and less on specific technologydiscussions.

Webb makes sure to keep the discussion in the room big-picture. "Idon't involve [the committee] in the details of our IT infrastructureor our network security strategy, other than reviewing the cost," saysWebb. "I present them with plans that help them understand why we'redoing something. I'll show them the business risks we face and thenexplain the level of investment that I think makes sense to alleviatethat risk." He also keeps the details of IT architecture tohimself.

But CIOs can't keep too much to themselves or they risk alienating thetop execs. So education is important. At Milwaukee-based sign-makerBrady, Keith Kaczanowski feeds the company's top executivesinformation about a technology before they have to make a decisionabout it. Brady recently centralized its computing infrastructure on anew ERPERP system, which raised the stakes on issues such as security anddisaster recovery now that all the company's digital eggs have beenplaced in one system basket. Kaczanowski, who is vice president of ITand process improvement, devoted a meeting to educating the topexecutives on those issues because he knows he'll soon be recommendingsome new spending in those areas. At Atlanta-based package giantUnited Parcel Service, CIO Ken Lacy also uses education to setexpectations. "The top executives travel all the time, and they'rehearing things about new technologies wherever they go," says Lacy."So I listen for that. And we'll have education sessions on Linux, forexample, where our people will present the issues and talk about whywe think we should wait on Linux or go ahead with it." Alles zu ERP auf CIO.de