Steve Chambers (CIO Visa Europe) & Valerie Dias (Chief Risk & Compliance Officer) talk about how IT & business work together: they have set up joint project boards, the IT always ask "why" in business terms.
They're all part of one business and don't consider they are in different organizations. There is an IT director with the CRCO, he is the one getting to the "why".
IT and its (tight) relationship with the business "have to" provide a competitive advantage (this is how Steve puts it).
The CIO has to manage the back-end (availability, security…) but there is no gap with the business on this either: it always end up as a business issue.
The project management is processed through "gates", checking and reviewing the ideas, depending on the size of the projects.
Visa has a poor reputation for innovation, although it conducts one of the most innovative experiments at the moment (mobile payment). Steve sees a contradiction between innovation and running a critical business. But innovation is fueled by the customers (one current project he cited is real-time scoring). It is the job of everyone at Visa: all employees are measured up on the same objectives.
Conflicts between business & IT can be constructive & healthy (and there are conflicts), as long as the dialogue is ongoing.
IT efficiency is achieved by stressing simplification in everything that is done.
The biggest challenge for the CIO is skepticism when trying to make the right choice: so he has to demonstrate that what is suggested actually works. Then some people begin to change (and trust installs) and it snowballs. There is also a need for the right engagement at every level.
Learning points: engagement and trust (Valerie), keep asking "why" until you're satisfied with the answer (Steve).
And we're at last getting some sun in Cannes!
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