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On the Leading Edge
Dr. Andres Fortino

On the Leading Edge

by Dr. Andres Fortino, P.E.

A CIO today has to be more innovative, take more risks with technology bets and win more often. It is no longer a sufficient to just maintain the infrastructure, have great up-time numbers and keep customers satisfied. Now it is also: "Can you bring us the next technology breakthrough to get a jump on the competition?" Businesses today live and die by whether they are quick to adopt technologies at the right time to keep their businesses energized.

As a CIO I was often plagued by the risk inherent in adopting a technology too early. I developed a simple radar: watch for a technology to move from bleeding edge to leading edge and ask when do I stop experimenting and start rolling it out organization-wide? Nothing scientific, just kept my eyes open and used common sense. I look forward to using this blog to document the Schumpeterian landscape of creative destruction in our information technology industry and help to sort out the bleeding from the leading edge. I am normally a very conservative technology adopter. On Roger's innovation- adoption scale I would rate as an early adopter, not an innovator. I wait until technology settles down before buying it. I like toys but they have to work. I can't fuss with them to get them working or keep them working. But on behalf of one's company one's bet often has to be more aggressive. So there has to be balance.

Bleeding edge to me is technology that works but still going through changes, such as when the standards have not settle down yet so there are competing versions still out there. Or the economics are not quite right yet (costs too much for an adequate return?).

Leading edge is technology ready for prime time. The competition has adopted it, and so one must follow suit to stay competitive. One can't wait too long or one falls behind. One can be the first mover in the industry by adopting it just as it crosses from bleeding to leading. And if big enough one cause it cross by forcing the issue (Wal-Mart with RFID?).

So let's start by having a discussion on some emerging technology. I just read this weekend on the Sunday New York Times a provocative article on cloud computing. Do I use it? Sure. I store lots of things on the internet and I practically run my entire business with Google tools. Instead of asking my corporate CIO to install new tools for me, I practically look for them on the web and adopt and abandon freely. Maybe I am a unique savvy user with a technical background and so I am comfortable with this technology. But no more than the new generation of tech-savvy workers entering the workforce. Cloud computing: I say still bleeding edge but a year away from mainstream adoption. What do you think?

Comments (1)

	1. 11-18-2008 17:53
	I generally agree with your position. I have two points to make, however. The first relates to the relationship differences that I believe exist between the CIO and the users in business organizations vs. educational organizations. The second relates to the dramatic changes that are occurring with Web 2.0 technologies that will, in the long term, dramatically change the way in which we deploy technology in an organization.    First, as an educator, do you not see the need to define a somewhat different perspective for a CIO in an educational organization than the CIO in a business organization? I believe that the CIO in an educational organization is dealing with a dichotomous environment where the traditional rules hold for administrative systems but are often thrown out the window in support of the educational mission. A CIO in an educational institution must be prepared to support the experimental and innovative forays to the bleeding edge of individual departments (such as online learning) and faculty members. It is the lack of support of these initiatives that result in security breaches and hard feelings between the CIO and the users she/he supports. It is the responsibility of the CIO in education to provide the best possible secure and modern technology infrastructure to support what the educator wants to do and then to help them achieve their goals when asked. Certainly there are real and significant resource issues that need to be resolved, but, generally, a business oriented CIO has a lot to learn before he or she can be a good education CIO.     Second, we are moving rapidly toward Tim Berners-Lee’s (created the WWW in 1991) dream of the user-built, user-centered, user-run Internet with Web 2.0. The challenges for the CIO today are immense as pressure mounts to move toward “Enterprise Web 2.0”.     In O’Reilly’s “What is Web 2.0” we are told Web 2.0 is “an attitude, not a technology.” Web 2.0 applications are always in beta. The software gets better as more people use it. It is “hackable.” Trust your users. (www.oreillynet.com/lpt/a/6228).     Try selling that to your board!     Web 2.0 characteristics are dynamic, user-built, user-centered, user-run, geometrically expandable, with a primary goal of building community, and viral! The way in which the CIO rolls out technology today (and the speed at which he or she does it) will be more critical than ever before in the past. The survival of the job category of CIO depends on how the CIO is able to modify his or her job description on the fly, in response to tremendous new market forces generated from the spread of Web 2.0 technology use.    It is a very exciting time for the CIO. Registered

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