Many of us, at one point in our life, were forced to sit at the kids' table for Thanksgiving dinner. We felt we had shown the maturity and fortitude to sit alongside the adults, rather than with the whiny cousins who flung pieces of cranberry sauce across the table at each other.
For many years, insurance IT leaders felt the same way. They had demonstrated their value to the enterprise, but for some reason they were passed over in favor of those on the business side—many of whom couldn't conduct their business without the tools and the training provided by IT.
Then, suddenly, things changed. Whether it was the collapse of the economy in 2008 or some other crisis point, IT was invited to join the adult table and to bask in the prestige that they not only deserved, but had earned as well.
The direction the insurance industry has taken in 2011 has guaranteed that IT will never be downgraded to the kids' table again, but insurance IT leaders need to be thankful for more than just the honor and prestige that goes with the lofty position of CIO. They must remember—and remind others—that the job is not yet done.
The insurance industry keeps turning in different directions and no one—inside or outside IT—can afford to look at what is going on around them and declare: mission accomplished.
There is a revolution in the business world today and those leading the way are the leaders that understand what IT can do for the business and the best way of incorporating those improvements.
Five years ago, IT leaders could demonstrate the efficiencies that technology could gain for the enterprise: jobs could be eliminated; paper could disappear. Companies could become leaner (and meaner) and compete in the new markets and with new—and often bigger—adversaries thanks to IT.
There comes a point in time, though, where efficiencies are more difficult to gain through automation. Personnel cuts have to stop somewhere.
So what's next? The future, of course, has yet to be written. The future—for both business and IT—is being imagined by intelligent people who understand that standing pat as the rest of the world moves into a newer, greater technological era is more like taking a step backward.
IT leaders are being called on to bring efficiencies to the business and not just partner with the business side, but to become part of the business side. The silos of the past are slowly disappearing, but the two biggest silos remaining—business and IT—need to become one.
When that has been achieved everyone can finally give thanks for what has been accomplished and for the possibilities of the future—a future where technologists don't react to business needs, but instead see the needs in advance and offer solutions to keep a successful business running smoothly and uninterrupted.
Until we reach that day, we can at least be thankful that IT is sitting at the adult table and no longer has to be on the lookout for bits of flying cranberry sauce entering their airspace.
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