IT directors urged to become more strategic

NEWS IT directors are being urged to embrace a more strategic role in transforming enterprises into "real-time" organisations. The collaborative commerce concept is not new. It is the notion of putting internal business processes online. These are typically CRM, ERP and supply chain applications that can be accessed through a company portal. The benefits include being able to navigate - in real-time - information that crosses all of these applications. Technology visionary and former CIO of the US Department of Defence, Paul Strassman said: "Think of yourself as a strategist and not as an IT executive. Collaborative commerce is a strategic weapon to save costs. The IT director must make strategic decisions that can help the company save money. When you eliminate processes you eliminate costs." Strassman argued that corporations could increase profits substantially by using collaborative commerce. Strassman also believes that the IT department will need a new mix of skills to help this happen. He said: "The economics of collaboration is now more dependent on IT directors. The IT executive manager of the collaborative world of the future will no longer be playing chequers, but 3D chess." Strassman estimates that corporations across the globe stand to gain an extra $2tr in profit by using collaborative commerce. Craig Conway, CEO of PeopleSoft, a company that claims to be at the forefront of the collaborative commerce revolution said: "Real-time collaborative commerce has unparalleled performance. Becoming a real-time enterprise is becoming a must-do for companies."