Aust CIOs not up to scratch: Report

An "absolute majority" of Australian CIOs do not have a full grip on e-business strategies, according to the director of CSC, Arno Franz.

Franz said Australian businesses need to implement an across-the-board "generational change" of CIOs.

Franz said businesses should employ CIOs that have the right business attributes and skills to convince company executives to invest in the changes necessary for the implementation of e-business.

When it comes to the introduction of e-business, Franz said CIOs - too busy dealing with issues such as Y2K - have neglected to adopt a business focus as opposed to a technological one.

"CIOs have to understand that their roles should not just be influenced by technology, but driven from a business perspective," Franz said.

As a result, Franz expects to see a number of "minor failures" among the business community as it tries to transform its online strategies from marketing to e-commerce.

"CIOs need to be able to justify the cost of IT infrastructure. They need to be able to identify the benefits businesses can achieve through e-business, but in order to do that they need to be able to understand business in general, and work with senior executives to fully engage business procedures," Franz said.

"One of the problems CIOs have faced is that their implementations have been regarded as an expense, rather than something that adds value to a company's bottom line."

Franz said CIOs need to develop internal training programs and engage service providers to successfully implement e-business strategies and encourage their executives to invest in new technologies.