The CIO’s CIO

Emmanuel Bernardo, vice-president for consulting and client services of Jupiter Systems, Inc. is the chief information officer’s CIO.

Having to relate to the CIOs of client companies, Bernardo has found that business-related courses are more useful in his job than technical-focused ones.

"Being CIO means one needs to have a broader perspective of business and, at the same time, to have the talent to identify and apply the right technology to boost a company’s competitive advantage. A master’s degree in business would be a good way to gain this orientation," he said. Bernardo finished his MBA at the Asian Institute of Management.

Bernardo believes a CIO need not have an extensive technical background. "I believe the ability to build a business case is more important; technical skill or know-how can be built or gained afterwards. Technical considerations should be driven by business, not the other way around. What a CIO needs is the ability to recognize whether or not a certain technology will gain for his or her company a competitive or an operational advantage. And then, he can have his or technical support make it work."

A classic example is the use of bar codes on bananas, which was unheard of years ago because bananas are soft, are irregular in shape and so on. "Because a CIO insisted that this be made to work, it is a common practice today," he said.

Focus

In Bernardo’s experience, the main focus of the CIO is to ensure, at all times, that operational support for business processes is working and running well.

Second, the CIO ensures that the information technology infrastructure grows and develops with the business. He said the IT infrastructure is just a mirror image of the physical business process.

Finally, the better CIOs are always on the look out for new technology and are not afraid to experiment with new applications or modes of business. This leads to first -mover advantage.

"I believe CIOs should focus on objectives, not on details. He must, at all times, take a business perspective. A CIO should not be afraid of change, since he or she would most likely be the change agent. At the same time, of course, the CIO should work with other members of management to manage the process or change, especially when business practice is concerned," he said.

Bernardo does not automatically recommend outsourcing the IT function. "It depends on what processes are covered by the outsourcing. Customers must be guided by the question, ‘If this process or information is a primary resource, would you trust others enough to manage it for you?’ Some of the larger corporations have sort of outsourced their IT by spinning off new companies."

Filling the role

His job at Jupiter Systems gives Bernardo many opportunities to fill the role of the CIO’s CIO. "Coming from the service provider side, I believe it is key to have a good working relationship with clients; it is very important to present a solid case on after sales support; and it is crucial to have an excellent track supported by other clients speaking for you."

Jupiter Systems has been in business since 1985. "We have our own ERP or enterprise resource planning solution called ERIC or enterprise resource information and control system. In terms of consulting services, we are very straightforward. Clients easily relate to our training and our consulting style because the cases we use are based on local practice."

Jupiter Systems consultants have at least three years experience implementing the software and gain in-depth product knowledge directly from the development team.

"Our consultants always take the position that they are the experts in software and the clients are experts in their business process. To make things work, they must work together and deal with issues as a team," Bernardo said.

He said effective CIOs are able to manage the process of change so that users and managers do not revolt. "At Jupiter Systems, we have IM or the implementation methodology for ERIC applications. IM ERIC encompasses all the aspects a CIO should consider such as correct requirements analysis, system definition, validation, training, user acceptance and revalidation."

In a seemingly lean market for enterprise software, Jupiter Systems is able to offer solutions to a variety of customers. "ERIC is very affordable and can scale from small to medium to large businesses," he said.