ROI

When you're considering IT projects, how do you justify the expense to the higher-ups?

It's really all over the mark in terms of when we do a traditional ROI. We're doing a pilot with RFID. We are looking to use that for equipment tracking. One of the notorious problems in a hospital is that nurses hoard equipment because they want the equipment when they want it, where they want it. So then you can't find the equipment. So we think RFID has great promise for being able to track the wheelchairs, the IV poles, the kinds of things that nurses need. So we are piloting that right now at Brigham and Women's Hospital.
Can you tell me about the process, about who said 'AHA! RFID can solve this problem.'

I think that particular project was a group within IS that started looking at RFID 18 months ago. They said, 'Where is the technology? What are some of the things we need to start to thinking about? How could it be applied to healthcare?' It's still considered an expensive technology so in that case it's 'Let's pilot it and get all these bumps out of the way.'
Do you have to get approval for projects or can you set the spending priorities within your department's budget?

So typically it's a CIO within one of our hospitals taking the idea back to management and saying 'Boy, it looks like RFID is ready for a pilot. What about if we tried it here?' That gets the business engaged. And that frankly comes about because that CIO is part of the leadership team and they're going to the operational meetings every week and hearing things like ' We can't find equipment.' That's how that comes about.
How do you justify a project? Do you use ROI, or improving patient care, or something else?

Improving patient care is always top priority. I think different technologies lend itself to that. So, for instance, if we have a big implementation with wireless. So one of the applications we have is where we have nurses using tablet PCs at the bedside to record medication that they give to the patient. It improves the accuracy, there are a number of safety measures in there so it improves patient safety. It also improves the nurse's time and their workflow as well. Now in some cases like that where it's almost a no-brainer of why this makes sense, we don't necessarily do an exhaustive ROI because when you get into areas where you can demonstrate that it's going to improve patient care it's pretty much an easy sell.
What about HIPPA? Did that shake up the IT priorities?

Really what HIPPA did was take two areas that we have been focused on for some time anyway, privacy and security, and raised the awareness of those issues among patients -- and inside our organization as well. So in many ways we saw it as a positive. And sometimes it's hard to say that about regulatory requirements. But it really allowed us to justify some of the work that we're already doing around privacy and security.
Is there a project coming up you're really excited about?

We are still doing a lot with wireless and I think we're still at the beginning stages of what that will mean for us. We're piloting doing dermatology visits from the home. There's a shortage of dermatologists . Try to get in for an appointment -- it's very tough. So we're going to pilot with patients primarily around acne to be able to transmit pictures from a digital phone to their dermatologist and then have the consultation. We are doing that in conjunction with Blue Cross/Blue Shield. So I think what we're able to do in the home and thinking about non traditional ways of delivering medicine is just an area that is going to continue to grow.
One of your wireless projects is a wireless nurse call system. So if someone is bedridden and wants water, instead of pressing a buzzer to signal a nurse to the central station, the nurses can get requests for water directly.

This is our medication administration work. One of the major issues around healthcare is the number of medication errors that occur. You're given the wrong medication or given medication that interacts with another medication --or you're on he wrong medication for your weight. So we have devoted a lot of time to looking at how we can improve that process. This particular process is 'How we can make sure the right medication is being given to the right patient -- at the right dosage?' And we're having nurses use tablet PCs. They're using these to scan a barcode on the patient's wrist (on a bracelet) so they know they have the right patient, they scan the barcode on the medication label so they've got the right medication and they are entering onto the tablet what amount has been administered to the patient.
That sounds like a valuable project.

You step back and say, 'Yeah, we're all affected by this. So how can you use technology?' Hypertension is a chronic condition that we see frequently. There is a high level of patients who, after they are prescribed medication, don't follow through and take their medication. So our telemedicine group is starting to look at whether there is a way that we can track the actual taking of the medication at home. Can we transmit information every time they open up the jar for their medication? You step back and say, 'Cool.'
Mary Finlay is deputy CIO of Partners HealthCare System Inc., the Boston-based parent company for a group of hospitals that includes Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women's Hospital. There, technology is used as a way to improve patient safety and customer service. Finlay sees wireless technology as the next big trend in healthcare, with RFID and tablet PCs helping to ensure prescribed medicines reach the right patients in the right doses.

Is business and IT alignment an issue at Avnet?

When I started doing this two years ago, I said to the team, 'I want to be clear on this, there are no IT problems, there are only business problems.' The last thing in the world I want is the latest whiz-bang technology. That's not what we're about. What I basically said was 'No toys.' The difference between a toy and a technology is whether we're doing it purely for the sake of the fun of the technology or we're doing it to solve a business problem.
Is that something you've seen IT departments get lost in -- or indulge in?

Oh, sure. I think that's normal and natural because IT people, by their very nature -- the good ones -- are curious. They're puzzle solvers, they love new technologies. So the fun of understanding all of that is to play with new technologies. You have to do that. That's called incubation, experimentation, etc. But you can't lose track of the fact that we don't need everyone with a BlackBerry on their belt. What we need is everybody communicating better.
Are you seen as the bad guy?

Yes, I'm always the bad guy; that's my role. I'm the discipline process that makes sure we keep it all in check. But I am more the guide than anything else. The easiest way I can say it to you is I have the license to ask all the dumb questions, and when I understand it, then I'm confident that we're going in the right direction.
What would your IT department say was its biggest headache or challenge this year? A lot of CIOs I've spoken with recently have named business intelligence projects, for example.

I'm going to put it in a different perspective. From my point of view, I think business intelligence is critical, but it's had a lot more hype than delivery. So we've ended up with all kinds of tools, some of which we've bought and then ultimately threw away. I don't want that kind of BI. CRM, same thing. When I ran the business, the salesforce yelled, 'CRM, CRM, we've got to have CRM.' So we built CRM. They didn't put the data in the system. If you don't put the data in the system, you've wasted everybody's time and money. So I don't want that kind of CRM. What I really want is practical solutions to the business problems that people face every day.
What's a good example of that technology?

We have something on the computer side we call Channel Connection. Channel Connection really is a set of computerized tools, Web-based, that allow our customers to have access to easier quoting, faster delivery of information, transportation, product data -- you name it and they've got access to it on their desktop, through a Web-based interface. It's a very, very, powerful tool.
Are you able to communicate with your CTO? Are you speaking the same language?

No, it's funny. I say to [CTO Bill Chapman] all the time, 'OK, now say that in English.' We do communicate very well. But obviously, he's four layers deep in the details beyond which I either am interested in or understand, take your pick. But the bottom line is that at the end of the day, he completely not only understands but buys into the notion that it has to be an ROI, it has to be a solution. I want to give Bill a lot of credit for that.
In July 2003, Ed Kamins took over the CIO role at Phoenix-based Avnet Inc., a Fortune 500 marketer, distributor and reseller of electronic components and computers. Using his marketing and engineering background, Kamins focused on reinventing the IT department to focus on the bottom line, contributing to Avnet's revenue growth over the past nine years from $5 billion to $11 billion per year.

Tell me about the IT Leadership Academy. How did it start?

The IT Leadership Academy is a program that was an initiative of a network of IT professionals, CIOs and CTOs of companies around country. We decided to put it together and house it in one place. We found a sponsor, which happens to be a college in Florida [Florida Community College]. We've been able to incorporate this professional network and the vendors in the field to work on developing the next generation of IT leaders. This isn't necessarily the ones who have just started out either. These are folks who are second and third level, preparing to be CIOs, CTOs, associate CIOs and directors of larger enterprises.
How do you try to get new business partners?

If you look in the IT news, you will read about major technology implementations that people spent millions on and failed. Vendors are better served by having better leaders making better decisions and doing better implementations of their solutions. The vendors, the IT practitioners and the business leaders are all in this together, so we had a common goal to start with. That's an easy pitch to make.

The second part is that companies already spend a tremendous amount of money trying to get people to buy their stuff. We decided that for a small percentage of that amount of money, we could create a lasting network and relationship model where people feel comfortable. It's not very hard to get folks who are already spending money to achieve a desired end, to spend it a little wiser.
What do you think is the biggest challenge facing CIOs today?

I think the biggest single challenge facing CIOs today is the overall complexity of the environment. I don't mean the technical complexity; I mean the business, financial and political complexity. For a long time, IT folks have been involved in very complex system implementations, but they seem to forget that it's really all about the carbonware -- it's about the people, the politics and the relationships. Until you have a trust relationship with the other C-level executives in an organization, it's very difficult to have the opportunity to do difficult projects.
How does the academy address that issue?

It helps an individual IT leader's professional network to help them make difficult decisions. This built-in network includes people that have been successful in the variety of areas and can help navigate a little bit.

It also helps them develop individual strategies for how to approach different problems, not just from a technical context, or a project management or leadership context, but from a political context as well. A big part of the ITLA is to actually put long term, successful CIOs, CEOs and CFOs in a room with these nascent IT leaders so they talk about the issues or problems from multiple perspectives.
What qualities do you think make up a good CIO?

I don't think where you started your career is as critical as the mindset that you approach problem solving with. If you understand your organization and if you understand your business, those are the two most important things. The technology landscape changes so much, that to succeed, it takes people who are confident and intelligent enough to be able to work in different tool sets and to be able to solve problems. CIOs need to be able to do that in a creative way, but they also need to be able to do that in very pragmatic ways.
Do you have a formal governance initiative?

We do, but our governance is a little different because we're a college. Basically we have a college wide committee structure. Our governance structure isn't as formalized as you might have in some kinds of businesses. We have faculty who chair our college wide technology committee and then we have subcommittees that all work on specific governance issues. In terms of the management of priorities, ultimately those are decisions that are made in my office. I have to allocate the resources and adjust on the fly if we have budget considerations.
How else does being the CIO of a college differ from being the CIO of a company?

Although I don't have a profit motive, that's a double-edged sword. The one side of it is that you can do things because you opt to do them, not because they will make money, but on the other side, we are very driven by ROI. We do run on a business model, and it's very difficult to make a business case when you don't have a profit motive. I cannot go out there and explain that the improved value is explained by an increased revenue share. I can in some cases, because we're going to add new programs or add new people. But on the other side, it's very hard to assign a value ROI to for a registration system that is easier for students to use. We have to use other tools and other means that were developed for other things. Sometimes you just have to say, "You know what? We can't calculate ROI in a purely financial way. " What we can say is, "we will improve our customer service and it's going to cost this amount."
Has the curriculum at Florida Community College changed since outsourcing has become an issue?

The curriculum hasn't changed a whole lot just because of that, but in the past few years, we've eliminated close to 200 programs, and we've added slightly more than that because we have a very strong organizational commitment to relevance. As our curriculum is refined over time, it typically reflects current business trends and issues. We try to remain relevant to what's going on in the business world.
Do you worry about a decline in interest amongst students wanting to make a career out of IT?

Yes. I worry a little bit when I see our registrations go down. On the professional side, I worry about it a different way. I'm more concerned with the general overall competency in math and science. The most difficult problems require the kinds of thinking and discipline that it takes to become good at math and science. What I find now, is that although they're not IT specific anymore, the same kinds of master problem-solving skills that it takes to become a really good systems developer are necessary to become successful in other areas of the business as well.

As the CIO of Florida Community College in Jacksonville, and the dean of its IT Leadership Academy, Rob Rennie has his work cut out for him. He recently spoke to SearchCIO.com to share how he successfully works with business partners - and how he aligns the constant changing IT industry with his curriculum.

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