Commentary

CIO and Enterprise Architect - Whats the difference?

So how is the role of the modern CIO defined? One online resource writes:

“As information technology and systems have become more important, the CIO has come to be viewed in many organizations as a key contributor in formulating strategic goals. Typically, the CIO in a large enterprise delegates technical decisions to employees more familiar with details. Usually, a CIO proposes the information technology an enterprise will need to achieve its goals and then works within a budget to implement the plan.”

But with respect to the Enterprise Architect’s role, another resource states the following as key responsibilities of the EA:

• Alignment of IT strategy and planning with company’s business goals.

• Optimization of information management approaches through an understanding of evolving business needs and technology capabilities.

• Long-term strategic responsibility for the company’s IT systems.

• Promotion of shared infrastructure and applications to reduce costs and improve information flows.

• Ensure that projects do not duplicate functionality or diverge from each other and business and IT strategies.

What is consistent, is that every online resource I’ve read gives a slightly different view as to what a CIO’s role and responsibilities are. The reoccurring themes are technology and strategy.  Historically,  the CIO was in charge of technology…pure and simple.  Now with some expensive technology mistakes of the past coming back to haunt many enterprises and Global Economic Crisis being the catch cry of CFO’s everywhere, the CIO has had to do more with less and be much more in touch with the businesses requirements.  Essentially, the old CIO role has gone the same way as the non customer-centric IT dept.

If the Enterprise Architect is tasked with constructing a view of the organisation’s strategy, processes, information, and information technology assets and then using this knowledge to ensure that the business and IT are in alignment, what is the CIO’s role?  Is it being replaced by the Enterprise Architect?  Or are they to work in tandem?  What is clear is that an EA’s role seems to be quite clear cut, yet a CIO’s role is very much dependent on the organisation.  Is a CIO an EA with a budget?  Or is that too simplistic?  Perhaps it is largely dependent on the size of the organisation in question?

Would love to hear any thoughts on this!