On the side-note, we are told that according to an October 2004 CIO Executive Council poll of 162 members, 57% of respondents said a lack of integration between business and IT skills is the biggest problem with today's U.S. IT education programs.

In the response from readers, one Hemant Patel, complains that he is exasperated with such articles. He says,

"I  have a degree in Computer Scicence from IIT, Bombay (India's premier technology institute), an "Outstanding" MBA with GPA 4.0 from Drake University, Iowa, PMP certification.

I also have post-degree 21 years of international experience (including Citibank and Fortune 300 companies) in technology delivery and excellence.

Still when I go for interviews, the interviewers are [sic] normally have lesser perspectives about the business side and are not impressed by my business knowledge. When I apply for higher level jobs, I do not receive any response back, even though, I have highlighted my accomplishments describing financial and customer service benefits."

I have to say that I kind of agree with Hemant here. I am curious about where are such CIOs who are willing to recognize the blend of IT and business talent? How are they trying to look for such talent in the real world other than evangelizing these thoughts in media and academia?

Personally, I have nine years of international experience with a master’s degree in engineering, a strong IT background and a PMP certification, who is feverishly conscious of how my projects align with business objectives and contribute value towards the business mission.

In my limited experience I have come across many CIOs who are either blind to, or unaware of the need for such combination skill-set. On the ground-level, I see street-smart and tactically wise techies who deliver immediate short-term results being more appealing to many CIOs than people who are passionate about providing strategic value. The only motivation for people like me to continue and groom ourselves in this direction is the hope, "you build it, and they will come (someday)".

I will be curious to know which industry-sectors or companies show more urgency and interest in finding people with these skills and what key qualities they look for to identify such people.  I believe unless businesses put their money and action where their mouths are, they will naturally find it hard to find people with such skills.

If any of you readers share similar thoughts, please send me a line.

Karthik Kumaraguru

Referred Article: http://www.cio.com/archive/030105/forum.html