Issue 1-1

Dear Reader,

Welcome to the premier issue of Architecture & Governance Magazine. The magazine you hold in your hands is dedicated to the new realm of IT: the smart, rational and cost-efficient use of information technology resources to achieve a company's business objectives.

Enterprise architecture moves out of the back room and into the limelight in 2005. The intersection of three immutable forces — compliance, privacy, and regulatory requirements; an increase in application and infrastructure outsourcing; and continued pressure from business concerns to both cut costs and deliver increased value — will elevate conversations about architecture within the organization. Unfortunately, politics, staffing, and overblown processes will prevent most organizations from taking advantage of the opportunities presented.

NOAA Maps the Future of Sensors that Gather Data from the ‘Bottom of the Ocean to the Sun'.  The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, founded in 1970 as an agency in the Commerce Department, is at the forefront of the United States’ environmental monitoring and research efforts.

Meetings are a necessary staple of Dr. Warren Ritchie's work life as Leader of Business Integration Services at Volkswagen of America.

He's had thousands of them in a distinguished career at the automaker. Amid them all, however, there have been a few meetings that truly stand out.

On a brisk fall day several years ago, Ritchie had one of those extraordinary meetings, which ultimately—in the years since—guided the wholly owned subsidiary of VW along a strategic path that should be the envy of its peers.

A Spyglass, A Compass and a Good Map - The Executive Guide to IT Governance. Today's CIO is sailing in uncharted waters. Never before in the history of the information age have technology complexity, time to market, and business responsiveness come together so swiftly to form the CIO agenda. The CIO is facing a perfect storm and needs the right tools to not only sail his ship to a safe port but to win the race and return loaded with the treasure the enterprise seeks.

The IT leadership role has changed dramatically since the title "chief information officer" was initially coined in the late 1980s. The CIO's portfolio of responsibilities must keep pace with the rising intrinsic economic value of information. As executive recruiters and human capital strategy consultants, we at Korn/Ferry International have enjoyed a privileged vantage of the resulting evolutionary pressures affecting CIOs in leading organizations across a broad spectrum of industries.