Product details

Illustrates the challenges associated with centralizing IT (information technology) decisions at Cisco, after a decade of decentralized planning and project funding. When Brad Boston became Cisco's new Chief Information Officer in 2001, he found that managers were starting to get frustrated with the results of their latest IT initiatives. Boston believed that Cisco needed to focus on its global infrastructure before investing in more functional tools and applications. Under the leadership of Boston and an executive operating committee, Cisco selected three major enterprise projects that required an unprecedented level of process planning and cross-functional co-operation, a major change from Cisco's legacy of entrepreneurial drive. As these three projects started to wind down in 2004, Boston and the operating committee were thinking about what types of new projects the IT organization should support. Raises issues about: (1) change management; (2) centralized planning; (3) IT prioritization and resource allocation; (4) enterprise co-operation; and (5) project funding.