Just when CIOs didn't need any more threats to their autonomy and importance, tightening budgets as a result of the global financial crisis are piling on and causing a sudden reversal in what had been some relatively rosy prospects for the profession... or at least in pundits opinions thereof.

First, from Gartner, we hear that CFOs are likely to start gaining ground on the governance ladder and supervising CIOs more and more commonly. This probably isn't too surprising with finances coming to the forefront of corporate concerns, despite recent studies indicating the negative effects on IT service delivery in such arrangements. Even more threatening is another Gartner report suggesting that the position of CIO may disappear entirely in some organizations as it proves of less value than outsourced services. I've been on the record with this concern for quite some time now, but I had discounted it as a long-term worry rather than an immediate one. With businesses suddenly quite serious about compressing budgets and have the incentive to take some radical steps to do so, however, this becomes a much more pressing problem for CIOs. If you combine the two reports, you can see the death spiral developing... under the CFO, the CIO has even less opportunity to distinguish himself and a greater likelihood of being marginalized in favor of outside options.

If you're going to avoid this fate, even in the near-term, the best thing you can do is act fast and get ahead of the curve. Demonstrate value by being the first person in the room to suggest the radical solutions; show the board that you haven't been ignoring new developments that can cuts costs by running IT in an entirely different way than the traditional. Get out of your comfort zone and take a look at solutions which may reduce your headcount but still deliver adequate service. Recognize that the rules of the game may have changed: that building a big department with a lot of reports isn't the way to demonstrate your worth, but helping the organization thrive in troubled times may more convincingly do so. And remember... if you're not thinking about these things, rest assured that someone else will be. Tell the CEO what he should be thinking about IT before he hears it from someone else or gets around to realizing it himself. If CIOs are getting canned to make way for people more willing to take risks and get things done, use this crisis as an excuse to take some risks and get things done yourself. After all, what have you got to lose?