Comments on: Indian CIOs: A pampered lot?

By: Jeycee

Jeycee — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 14:11:36 +0000

So true. As a CIO myself, I face the frustration of the innumerable “events”. Quite a few hours every week just go in refusing the invites or to assess the real significance of the event to the organisation.

One thing which you probably missed, is the return gift that each such event has in gratitude of CIO’s time. I do remember a CIO friend of mine whose attic was full of wine glasses, backpacks, clocks, usb drives…..

I think its getting too much and there should be an industry calendar to properly schedule such congregations.

I must say you have wonderfully brought out a relevant topic.

By: Anand Kumar Padmanaban

Anand Kumar Padmanaban — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 06:23:39 +0000

As in all aspects of discussion, a story has more than 2 sides to it …There are the CIO’s who are the “stars” being feted and coveted, then there are the CIO’s who are the invisibles … the proverbial dark horses and then you have the other breed of CIO’s who are somewhere in between … I would not say that the whole CIO lot is pampered, I would say that the formula for this looks something like a regression equation ….

pampering of the CIO = Function of ( how much business can this CIO bring ) + how much free time the individual has to come in and talk + how knowledgeable this CIO is in his sphere of work …in diminishing order ….although I have seen some organizers bucking the trend and almost reversing the formula to where knowledge and value takes higher priority than commercial interests …

End of the day , it is about what the market wants and who meets those wants …

By: Ratnakar Nemani

Ratnakar Nemani — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 04:17:30 +0000

Hyderabad CIO forum is completely different from rest. The club has started in 2002 by Mr K Chandra Sekhar who is a CEO of Kemotheraptik Drugs Ltd., Hyderabad. The momentum started in 2005 – 2006 when Ranga from Dr Reddy’s, Raj and Srinivas from Nagarjuna Group, Sireesh from Vimta Labs, one more Chandra from Midhani, Saibaba from Lanco, Rammurthy from Matrix, Ramakrishna from Pragati, Suresh & Venkat from ITC Group, Venkatram from Hindware, Satya from Deccan Cements, Srinivas Kishan from Satyam, BLV Rao from infotech, Aakella from Intergraph etc. joined the club. The objective of the CIO Forum is to have a meeting in one of the companies in Andhra Pradesh towards sharing knowledge and no sponsors are allowed. Every CIO has to pay from his pocket. We meet on a quarterly basis and enjoy evening food in a Dhaba hotel for a change. We are not really interested in sponsor trips (local or abroad) unless we receive quality (may be we look into good speakers etc…). There were some incidents where we had rejected the sponsor trips. Any pampered CIO is not allowed in our Hyderabad CIO forum. No elections in our club. Our Chandra is Hero of the Hyderabad CIO Forum and please visit our site http://www.cioforum.in which is under construction……

By: Alok Kumar

Alok Kumar — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 17:18:15 +0000

At the end of the day it is all about money. Any CXO with purchasing power will be wooed by sales and money will be spent to get closer to the privileged lot. There used to be a novelty value which has already worn off with these CIO Clubs. When most of the overseas destinations already covered and returns diminishing for the sponsors, someone should find some innovative way of wooing the CIO.
I can be very blunt in putting that although initially the sponsors gained through these events, the returns are fast diminishing. The sales pitch is now getting targeted to same CIO in different locations of the world. How would a CIO buy things which he already has and is under pressure to keep his budget 25% of the projection?
Other day, it was a comic situation when one of the office bearers of a CIO group was peering over the world map and trying to suggest locations for next meet and finding that almost every place has been covered.
A neutral man like me would beg these sponsors and event organisers to change the formats and concept of these events. Too much of anything is bad. Most of these events and coverage are becoming a number game with no benefit on either side.
I would suggest companies to invest in their Labs and offer CIOs and their teams to try hands on. Software vendors can provide free trial licenses and training to CIOs team. They should not only through all investment on the CIO but on his team who are decision influencers. Distributing books which matter, organising meetings with industry leaders and showcasing latest and best technologies would help CIOs derive better value from the programs. Traditional Sales will always remain the best way to get serious buyers. Overseas travel and enjoying drinks at some exotic locales would help CIOs refresh and will always be crowd pullers, but nothing more.

By: Pratima

Pratima — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 11:13:18 +0000

So True!
But I wonder how much value finally sifts down from the clutter of these events for any side – Organiser or CIO?
A sauna bath looks good, but not everyday.
Isn’t it like killing the Golden Goose in the myopic race of numbers?
After all there should be some work left to do for the good-ol vendor’s salesman too?

One more thing, I still have to see a CIO (apart from a very few impressive exceptions) who are the ‘Farah Khans’ of the IT Bollywood.
A director is no body without her/his team. The way even a spot boy is given camera time in her movie credits, is worth a thought.
Where are those silent armies of CIOs while they are being wooed for gala events?
And when would this coveted lot find time to work and do all the IT buzz they are almost nettled to speak on or listen to.
Many CIOs have expressed this concern in some of my chats also and it’s not possible not to sympathise with him.