|
Page 1 of 2
By Lisa Yoon
It wasn't until halfway through my conversation with Rob Stein of the Indianapolis Museum of Art that I realized this was his first job as CIO. He talks about running IT with such easy-going authority that I'd assumed he'd been in the chief IT role for more than three years (Stein joined the museum in 2006 as CIO). But then this is part of what makes Stein a good fit for the role. As he puts it, "The CIO role fits my skills well: I'm a good communicator, and I like budgeting and planning" -- in addition, of course, to his training as a technologist.
Stein began his career as a software engineer and worked for the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA), the organization responsible for the first Web browser (later Netscape) from 1996 to 2002. At the NCSA, he was a scientific visualization developer building virtual-reality models. He was part of the team that developed what was then the world's largest computer display for simulation data.
Later, at Indiana University's pervasive technology lab, he experimented with human computer-interface work. It was here that Stein got connected with his current employer; much of his work was with museums, many of which have been increasing their use of technology during the past several years to enhance the visitor experience. "I love museums and applying technology to solve problems," Stein observes. Indeed, the museum environment was a refreshing change from the research-lab setting, where most of his work was prototypes or demos. At the museum he gets to see his work in final form, put to use by the public.
I asked Stein about being a CIO for the first time.
First 90 Days
On his arrival as chief information officer, the Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA) had major IT developments that had just gotten underway, leaving Stein little time to be nervous about his first CIO role. He hit the ground running with the major projects of building a storage-area network (SAN) for backup and disaster recovery, executing the redesign and overhaul of the museum's Web site, and developing a photo database collection.
Surrounding himself with good people was key, says Stein, who inherited a small staff which he expanded. Stein also strives to focus his decisions as CIO on building an agile IT organization, self-sufficient and bent on problem-solving -- ready to serve the IMA's technology needs. For example, when he joined the museum, its collections had very limited online presence. Stein's team built a set of middleware which drives visitors' ability to access the IMA's collections online.
Working with other functions has also been helpful to Stein's success. At the IMA, the Web site is technically Stein's responsibility, but in order to roll out a new site for the museum, decisions about the project necessarily had to be based on a consensus across departments.
Biggest Newbie Concern
As a new CIO, Stein knew he needed a firm grasp of budgets and their history. He worked closely with the museum's CFO and finance staff to understand what the real cost centers were and where Stein had some flexibility. It took about six months to understand it fully, he says.
|
