The concept of Utility computing has existed since the 1960s and was taken further by IBM in the 1980s and 1990s. It has taken a few decades and our computing still doesn't feel like a utility service but we are surely getting there with virtualization, cloud, web services etc. etc..
With these changes there is a fundamental change that's going to happen in the role of the Chief Information Officer or the CIO.
a) the notion of anyone being the chief of "information" in any organization big or small makes little sense and has to go away.
b) secondly, if we do achieve all that the cloud or utility computing promises, enterprises will need a Chief Computing Facilities Officer (CCFO) and not a CIO.As long as the computing facilities, including the required hardware, software and tools, are in place much like the buildings and other facilities, employees will be able to take care of the rest.
So the aspiring CIOs of tomorrow should probably start preparing along these lines. I don't think it will take more than a decade to get us to the point when we need CCFOs and not CIOs.
With these changes there is a fundamental change that's going to happen in the role of the Chief Information Officer or the CIO.
a) the notion of anyone being the chief of "information" in any organization big or small makes little sense and has to go away.
b) secondly, if we do achieve all that the cloud or utility computing promises, enterprises will need a Chief Computing Facilities Officer (CCFO) and not a CIO.As long as the computing facilities, including the required hardware, software and tools, are in place much like the buildings and other facilities, employees will be able to take care of the rest.
So the aspiring CIOs of tomorrow should probably start preparing along these lines. I don't think it will take more than a decade to get us to the point when we need CCFOs and not CIOs.
