7 business skills every IT leader needs to succeed

Today’s CIO needs more than technology mastery. Long-term career success also demands a commitment to developing a set of core business skills.

The days when CIOs could glide into a long-term career based solely on their technical abilities are rapidly fading.

“It’s no longer enough for IT leaders to be tech experts,” warns Bob Hersch, a principal at Deloitte Consulting. The best-in-class CIOs of today are also business savvy, using their knowledge to embed IT as a service capability.

“This business-centric approach integrates IT into an overall business strategy,” he adds.

The best way any IT leader can augment his or her current technical knowledge — and strengthen their long-term career prospects — is by committing to acquiring the following seven essential business skills.

1. An entrepreneurial mindset

CIOs, regardless of their organization’s size, have to act like entrepreneurs, operating with speed, agility, and ever higher levels of passion, empathy, and creativity, advises Ram Nagappan, CIO at global investment firm BNY Mellon Pershing.

Disruption is the new constant. “Competition is coming from all corners of the market, with fintechs and startups moving at light speed,” Nagappan says. To meet competition head on, CIOs must think like entrepreneurs and act as agents of change. “They need to constantly think about how their business could be disrupted at any point in time and how they can creatively deploy technology to get ahead of potential disruptors and future-proof the business,” he suggests.

2. Strong leadership skills

Leadership is a core competency that paves the way to successful technology transformation. “To truly lead, you must have business acumen in addition to technical understanding,” explains Richard Cox, CIO at media conglomerate Cox Enterprises. “Our jobs are really to leverage technology to unleash the potential of the business, and you simply have to have an understanding of the business landscape in order to exploit these opportunities.”[ Looking to upgrade your career in tech? This comprehensive online course teaches you how. ]

Leadership is a combination of internal and external engagement. The problems CIOs face today are growing increasingly complex. The future is ambiguous, and answers are often not clear or simple. “The only way to navigate in … these uncharted waters, is to build an environment that allows people to bring ideas, perspectives, and input to solve problems,” Cox says. “Building teams that create aligned empowerment is more important today than ever.”

Poor IT leaders often make the mistake of setting project plans, gate reviews, and delivery dates without educating the IT team on the who, what, when, and why of how the effort will help the enterprise, says Harley Bledsoe, CIO at BBB National Programs, a nonprofit organization that oversees more than a dozen industry self-regulation programs that sets standards for business advertising and privacy practices.

“Bringing the team along on the journey as they execute on their deliverables is critical to developing an effective solution,” he explains.

Read more HERE

Dallas IT News – Security expert Bruce Schneier says at Dallas cybsecurity conference that data is the pollution of the Information Age

During a panel discussion at the Worldwide Cybersecurity Summit in Dallas yesterday afternoon that otherwise was as dry as a highway in the Sahara, security guru Bruce Schneier made a provocative argument.

He contended that just as pollution was the unfortunate byproduct of the Industrial Revolution, data is the waste product of the digital revolution.

And just like pollution, all the data we generate during our lives never degrades.

He noted that almost every transaction and interaction now generates data.

Read more at Dallas News

Technology Runs the Boston Marathon

The runners took center stage during the Boston Marathon Monday, but behind the scenes of the prestigious road race was an enterprise-class data center capable of accurately tracking more than 26,000 runners and relaying that information to a number of outlets.

To watch a video report click here.

When the runners picked up their numbers a few days before the race, they were also issued a small, white piece of plastic that weighed only a few grams. The tracking chip, made by Mylaps, tied into the runners’ sneakers and used RFID technology to track them.

Read More at CIO Magazine

IT Staff Augmentation – Effective Way to Deal With Resource Crunch

Dallas IT Staff-Aug

IT Staff Augmentation – Effective Way to Deal With Resource Crunch

Need to staff a project immediately and introduce work process efficiency? Staff augmentation could turn out to be an effective way to leverage existing resources and utilize outsourced resources for the benefit of your company. Today, IT staff augmentation companies will help offer a team of professionals that can fill in to suit an organization’s needs.

There are a number of staff augmentation companies online which will assist companies’ with customized software development, contract programmers and a number of staffing solutions based on the needs and the budget of the company. It involves evaluation of existing staff in the company and determination of additional skills required for the projects. In companies that may have downsized a little too much, IT staff augmentation is a great alternative for most companies who are faced with problems of abundant/shortage of IT resources and falling rates.

 

Benefits of Staff Augmentation in the IT Sector

  • Skilled, professional IT personnel to work on specific requirements
  • Create and maintain the additional infrastructure and manpower
  • Save time and money

 

Apart from the above mentioned advantages, the process of staff augmentation is helpful in choosing the very best in times of abundance of IT resources. Various companies use different methodologies to find the right candidate and the process of finding an online company which offer IT staff is simpler than ever. For finding the best online you need to check a huge database and choose from a pool of talent. However, IT staff augmentation companies online will help make the process as easy as a click of your mouse. Once your requirements have been noted, they will find the most competent IT staff for your needs and budget.

It is natural for companies to have concerns over the ability/productivity of the IT staff that they have hired following recommendation of the staffing companies. But, the well-structured recruitment process and comprehensive screening process by the staffing companies will ensure that critical information is validated and candidates are chosen based on their performance and ability to handle the job requirement.

As a 13 year veteran of Dallas IT Operations and Technical Consulting/Recruiting, I really do desire to partner with my clients in a long-term relationship that adds value. Many companies I have worked for since moving into IT Staffing and Recruiting did not feel the same way as I did.  That is why I considered it a “blessing in disguise” when the last company I was with decided to to close the Dallas IT Consulting/Recruiting office I operated.  I launched my own company, ProVisionTech, and now am able to operate my own company with what I feel are sound and honest business practices.  If you need to augment your current IT staff, doesn’t it just make sense to work with a company that actually has the background and expert knowledge of the IT Industry?  We can help you with your IT Staffing Augmentation needs.   

When you work with us, you’ll find the right person or position faster, easier and with fewer headaches than you ever imagined. We guarantee it!

Mike HanesProVisionTech 

For more information on our company, ProVisionTech, go to www.provisiontechgroup.com or call 972-200-7171

For your Free Report – 5 Things You Must Know Before Hiring An IT Consulting/Staffing Company, go to www.yourtechnicalrecruiter.com

Dallas IT Staffing/Recruiting

What’s Gone Wrong With IT Staffing Agencies?

By Mike Hanes

For years we were lulled into a false sense of security when it came to our IT backgrounds and technology-driven economy. Not too long ago, it was widely accepted that if you had any IT literacy and general understanding of SQL, Java, Lotus, or Unix, finding a position was relatively easy to do. We became familiar with ‘buzzwords’ that could be woven into a resume and instantly lend credibility where none was necessarily due, especially when few actually understood the lingo. Lately, we’ve had a rude awakening.

Not only are positions in the IT world being cut right and left, many of those positions being vacated are then staffed with lesser paid, unqualified personnel. The qualified IT professional is finding it harder and harder to find a company that is willing to pay for their expertise, and companies looking to hire are often disappointed with candidates thrown their way via technical staffing agencies.

Why Are Technical Staffing Agencies Missing the Mark?
To understand what’s going on here, you need a basic understanding of the IT staffing/recruiting process. In a typical firm, there are account managers, recruiters, and sometimes those who are referred to as ‘researchers.’  The hiring company contacts the staffing firm’s account manager with a particular requirement in a candidate. The account manager relays the specific requirements to their recruitment specialist, who filters through their employee candidates to search for the right fit. Ideally speaking, this would work just fine. The problem exists when:

  • the account manager and the recruiter don’t have any technology experience and/or don’t possess an understanding of what technological projects may involve,
  • account managers and recruiters are subject to a placement quota, often with limited understanding of IT language,
  • time constraints placed on recruiters to fill quotas result in ‘resume slamming’ a hiring company, and actually tweaking a candidate’s resume!

With qualified candidates difficult to find, technical staffing agencies often spend quite a bit of time just trying to locate them. Things like thorough screening, reference and background checks slip through the cracks. It seems that some firms’ main concerns are with billable hours and placement fees when they should be focused on actually partnering with, understanding, and serving a hiring company’s true needs.

What Does The Hiring Company Need To Know?
A hiring company looking for a new hire needs to be satisfied that a potential employee meets their requirements. They need to know that what they are looking for is exactly what they’ll find, and not just a gamble. Hiring companies are often too busy to adequately screen resumes.  IT managers may go from meeting to meeting all day long and are still expected to get project work done. They don’t have time to waste explaining technological details to staffing firm account managers who don’t understand the language. Screening candidate resumes that should have already been screened is a further waste of time.

A hiring company also needs to know that the IT staffing agency has taken the time to make sure an IT professional’s salary expectations fall in line with the range provided to them. The IT professional’s references need to be checked to ensure they have all the experience claimed on their resume. The hiring company needs to know the recruiter matched recent relevant experience with their requirements and matched the IT professional with the company or team culture.

Quotas are a necessary evil, no doubt, but clashing agendas between account managers and recruiters can cause many IT staffing/recruiting agencies to operate on less than an ethical level. No one is served when:

  • a) unqualified personnel are sent to a company needing staff, or
  • b) when a true IT professional is overlooked due to a lack of technical understanding by the recruiter.

IT staffing agencies with technological experience and training put the right candidate in front of the right company. The right technical staffing solution shouldn’t necessarily be measured by the highest placement percentage. Personnel warranties and technical skills testing are successful strategies for accountability, a better unit of measure. Make sure that when you decide on an IT staffing/recruiting agency to fill your staffing requirements, you’ve chosen a company who desires long-term results.

Copyright 2009  Mike Hanes, ProVisionTech Group All Rights Reserved

Mike Hanes, Founder and President of ProVisionTech Group, a division of Resource Advantage Inc., is a Dallas IT solutions provider offering highly qualified IT contractors/IT consultants and placement of IT candidates for projects and data centers. ProVisionTech engages the best Dallas technical resources on demand. Mike believes that to serve the customer in the best possible way, both sides of the staffing equation need to be addressed. You can’t afford to make a mistake, call ProVisionTech Group today for the highest quality Dallas IT staff and employment opportunities available.  Call 972-200-7171 or go to: www.provisiontechgroup.com

For your Free Report – 5 Things You Must Know Before Hiring An IT Consulting/Staffing Company, go to www.yourtechnicalrecruiter.com

Dallas IT Consulting

Dallas IT Consulting

Truly Partnering With Your Dallas IT Clients

Many Dallas IT Consulting/IT Recruiting firms seem to lack an understanding on what it means to partner with their clients’ in a long-term relationship.  It seems that some firms are just concerned with billable hours and one-off placement fees than actually serving their clients true needs.  A case in point was a situation I encountered at one such firm in which I was employed.  I was account manager of a financial client where we had placed a programmer.  This programmer was not working out well and the client was thinking of replacing him, however, the president of the IT consulting firm I was with was determined to keep this programmer there for the 90 day guarantee period just so they could earn their fee.  I actually called the programmer and asked if he knew that the client was thinking of letting him go and told him that he really needed to “step up” his learning process and come up to speed or we would have to replace him.  The candidate did better for a short period of time.  At around 95 days after he was hired, the client IT Development Manager called to say that the candidate was not working out and could we find a replacement.  I spoke with the president of our firm and he said “no way, they have to pay us”.  I was very uncomfortable with this approach, but really had no say in the final decision.  Although I had asked if we could not be flexible on the 90 day guarantee period, he proceeded, in no uncertain terms, to tell me what he wanted me to tell the manager – to pay us immediately.  The client paid us all right, and then put us on their “blacklist”.

As a technical account manager/recruiter, do you truly partner with your clients?  As a 13 year veteran of Dallas IT Operations and Technical Consulting/Recruiting, I really do desire to partner with my clients in a long-term relationship that adds value. That is why I considered it a “blessing in disguise” when that particular company I was with decided to to close the Dallas office I operated.  I launched my own company, ProVisionTech, and now am able to operate my own company with what I feel are sound and honest business practices.

Mike Hanes, Founder and President of ProVisionTech Group, a division of Resource Advantage Inc., is a Dallas IT solutions provider offering highly qualified IT contractors/IT consultants and placement of IT candidates for projects and data centers. ProVisionTech engages the best technical resources on demand. Mike believes that to serve the customer in the best possible way, both sides of the staffing equation need to be addressed. You can’t afford to make a mistake, call ProVisionTech Group today for the highest quality staff and employment opportunities available.  Call 972-200-7171 or go to: www.yourtechnicalrecruiter.com

For more information on our company, ProVisionTech, go to www.provisiontechgroup.com