No.7   June 1, 2000   The CIO as the Driving Force Behind IT Restructuring   Koki YODOKAWA        Information technology (IT) is becoming an increasingly important part of corporate activities. As the person principally responsible for corporate IT strategy, the chief information officer (CIO) has a crucial role to play in this process. By analyzing the level of attainment of a company's systems and systems department by means of an overall method of evaluating its information systems and using this as the basis for (1) promising both management and customers a certain standard of service, (2) setting about improving the situation, (3) evaluating the results, and (4) reporting these to management, the CIO's job is to put this accountability into practice.    The chief information officer should always be looking for ways to reform the six IT assets (business systems, system infrastructure, information, human resources, technology and relations) and the five IT processes (planning, building, procurement, operations and evaluation) that are the responsibility of the CIO by using a rational approach to management. In order to achieve this, the CIO also needs to radically restructure the way the IT function in the company is organized--if necessary, by outsourcing it. Contents I The Five Revolutions in Information Technology and the Role of the Chief Information Officer II Responsibilities of a CIO III The Balanced Scorecard Approach: An Overall Method of Evaluating Information Systems IV The Management Cycle of Information Systems V The Main Aspects of Managing IT Assets VI The Main Aspects of IT Process Management VII New Role for Systems Departments VIII Options for Organizing IT Management IX Need for Management of IT Subsidiary to Be Decisive X Qualities Desired in an Outsourcing Supplier XI Outsourcing as an Offensive Strategy GO to PDF