CIO Suzanne Gordon oversees the I.T. infrastructure  and support services that form the cornerstone for successful software development and sales efforts at software maker SAS.
Under her direction, the 300-person I.T. staff focuses on the alignment of I.T. resources with other business units within SAS. SAS is the world's largest privately held software company with about 10,000 employees and US$1.3 billion in revenues in 2003.
Prior to becoming CIO, Gordon was vice president of the SAS Information Systems Division (ISD). She also headed the management information services department in ISD for nearly 20 years.
Gordon is a graduate of North Carolina State University with bachelor's degrees in math and computer science, and a master's degree in statistics. She is a frequent speaker and mentor to women pursuing technical careers and is also active in a medical ministry that provides services to low-income individuals.
Gordon spoke exclusively with CIO Today about the challenges I.T. leaders face in today's business climate.
CIO Today: What are your top concerns as CIO?
Gordon: Security, compliance and business contintuity.
One area that I particularly enjoy -- and is becoming more important to our customers -- is business alignment and getting the I.T. department to work in sync with the business units. The I.T. department is in such a good position to see both the forest and the trees -- both the whole of the company and the individual units.
This view helps I.T., and it helps the business units to get aligned because we bring them together in the SAS I.T. governance council. It's a great way for folks from around the company to get together and prioritize projects.
CIO Today: Have CIO priorities changed from five years ago?
Gordon: CIOs continue to have to deal with rapidly changing technology. For example, we have to plan for wireless networks and gadgets to use them correctly, because they can really enhance productivity or they can be time-consumers and security problems.
CIO Today: Is the I.T. department more driven by technology or financial considerations?
Gordon: That's interesting for SAS. It's driven by both, but since we are a technology company I would have to say that technology has an edge. We have to stay within a certain budget, but we have to keep up with new technologies. It's well worth the investment.
CIO Today: How have new legislative demands affected the I.T. department and the CIO in particular? (continued...)
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