CIOs must address Euro crisis now to protect enterprises: Gartner

As uncertainty seems to be the only growing result out of the Eurozone at the moment, that means that CIOs have no time to dawdle when it comes to protecting their enterprise businesses, according to Gartner.

Gartner fellow and vice president David Furlonger explained in a report as to why the chief information officer, in particular, has the responsibility in this situation:

Uniquely positioned within their enterprises, CIOs are at the fulcrum of business and technology, and they are the only executives with sufficient visibility and potential capability to address the challenges posed by today's eurozone crisis.

Business leaders are crying out for CIOs to demonstrate more effectively the capability of IT and, specifically, to add value to the business. Therefore, this crisis also presents CIOs with an opportunity to make substantial and bold steps to meet CEO demands, and demonstrate the importance and true value of IT.

More specifically, Gartner posits that CIOs need to take a proactive approach when it comes to setting up safeguards regarding risks over financial defaults, bankruptcy, as well as employee and customer distress, among many other issues.

The information technology research and advisory company has outlined four pressing challenges that needed to be addressed immediately: market volatility, capital costs, human capital management, and risk management.

That last challenge, in particular, has many potential ramifications for IT departments as operational risk is heightened by issues such as changes in contractual obligations, business continuity, and regulatory compliance.

Thus, even if Eurozone leaders can resolve the crisis in a timely manner, Gartner advises there will still be some consequences if CIOs and IT departments don't move quickly to address these issues in order to save time, money and jobs.

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