By Jenalyn Rubio Comouterworld Philippines

“As ICT becomes the backbone of businesses, CIOs are also becoming increasingly essential and integral members of senior management teams,” Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) chairman Ray Anthony Roxas-Chua says during his keynote speech as he opened the Computerworld Philippines CIO Forum yearend event and Christmas reception.

Sharing the results of a 2008 global survey of CIOs conducted by the Center for CIO Leadership, which aimed to determine how CIOs assessed themselves based on four competencies, namely: leadership, business strategy and process, innovation and growth, and organization and talent management, the CICT chairman said survey responses revealed that CIOs are “ready and confident to assume leadership roles, and are being integrated in the decision-making process.”

“A CIO is basically the chief architect of ICT strategies among businesses and institutions, and has the potential to lead the transformation of these organizations They are also emerging as leaders of innovation with their knowledge of technology and how it can create new business opportunities,” adds Roxas-Chua.

Although there is no clearly-defined CIO position in the government, Roxas-Chua says the CICT acknowledges the importance of having a CIO in every organization, this is why one of the provisions in the DICT Bill, should it finally be approved by the Senate, is to strengthen the CIO Forum as the official CIO Council for government so that cohesive IT initiatives could effectively be pushed across the government.

According to the Secretary, the CICT also recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the Chief Information Officers Forum Inc. (CIOF) for joint cooperation and coordination of ICT activities within the public and private sectors. The CIOF is an organization comprised of CIOs from different government departments and agencies.

“The MOU signifies a commitment toward closer collaboration and, in part, it defines and strengthens the role of the CIO in planning, reviewing, coordinating, and implementing government agencies’ ICT agenda.”

This MOU, likewise, affirms the commission’s commitment to continuous collaboration on national ICT priorities, mandating the review of the Government Information Systems Plan and the government agencies’ Information Systems Strategic Plans; the development and strengthening of ICT competencies of government CIOs; and the establishment of policy and technical committees on ICT procurement, e-governance, and interoperability between public and private sector ICT systems, says the CICT chair.

“It is very clear that the role of the CIO, both in the public and private sector, will continue to grow in importance. As the global economy relies more on the innovative use of technology, it is imperative that the CIO professional be able to take the lead in leveraging ICT to attain the goals of businesses and organizations,” adds Roxas-Chua.

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