Incoming

WHO'S A BEAN COUNTER NOW?
Your Podium columnist must be a bean counter to come up with this sad list of suggestions ["Why Bean Counters Can't Run the Universe," December 2005 issue].

Any CIO worth his salt wouldn't be nervous about seeing finance. What he does with the IT budget shouldn't even involve the CFO once it's approved. If a $2,500 expense creates company-wide problems, the company has bigger fish to fry. And I recommend that a CIO worry less about the petty politics of the finance office and do what's needed to make a company successful. If IT provides contacts that create value, finance should head back to its office.

I read roughly 40 magazines and four books related to IT a month, most of which are history by the time they're published. If I need good information about trends, I read the business or manufacturing trade magazines and talk with other executives.

Mitch Davis
CIO
Bowdoin College
Brunswick, Maine

COLUMNIST CATHY HOTKA RESPONDS:
I was actually urging people to get out of the office more by repeating the excuses I hear for not doing so. But I'm glad to hear that you're networked.

A SMOOTH IMPLEMENTATION
My IT director and I were both amazed by the decisions of C&H Sugar Co. described in "Shifting Ground" [April issue]. We found it difficult to believe that with 17 staffers the company couldn't find the skills to run a 24/7 operation.

Four years ago, we implemented a full enterprise resource planning system for our food-processing company with two plants in different states. From the date of signing the contract to the go-live date, the project took seven months. We had a cross-functional team of eight.

As for a generator, we don't rely on one. Our battery backups keep the system from crashing during power outages. We can't remember our last downtime because it was so long ago and so short. I doubt the hosting sites can match our uptime or availability.

Alan Kolody
VP of Finance
Brooks Food Group Inc.
Bedford, Va.

ERP ENVY
I stumbled across your ERP Journey column "How to Prepare for a Smooth Launch" [November issue]. I started on this last installment but quickly went back to the beginning of the series. I had to do similar search and a conversion for a much smaller company, so I've had all the experiences you so accurately described. Your project sounded like more fun than my own. Thanks for the entertaining article.

Hugh Kilmartin
Via e-mail

THE CIO DASHBOARD
I wanted to compliment your new publication. I subscribe to Baseline, Storage and a handful of other magazines. Yours seems to be the dashboard I've been looking for: very interesting and an easy read.

Douglas J. Bernal
CTO
Palm Bay Imports Inc.
Syosset, N.Y.

KUDOS
I just put down my latest issue of CIO Decisions. You and your team have done a terrific job of putting this together. The article "Schmooze City" [November issue] hit home.

A. Bryan Kearney
VP and CIO
IDACORP Inc./Idaho Power Company
Boisie, Idaho

I received an issue of your magazine and would like to say well done! I found the articles informative, practical, and clearly focused on my needs and interests. The Project Expert column was particularly useful.

Fabian Soler
CSO
Open Solutions Canada
Vancouver, British Columbia

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU:
CIO Decisions welcomes letters to the editor. Write to us at editor@ciodecisions.com and please include your name, title, company, city/state, and a daytime phone number for verification. We may edit letters for clarity and length.

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