most controversial CIO issues of the year? what about NPtech?

What were the most controversial issues for Nonprofit techies in 2007? I found this article about most controversial issues for corporate CIOs, but does it apply to NPOs as well?

The most controversial CIO issues of the year By SearchCIO.com Staff

02 Jan 2008 | SearchCIO.com

Here are the highlights:

1. Age discrimination

Without a doubt, CIOs have their careers top of mind.

My Comment, not sure how this one applies, but it is interesting to think about how many NPOs run on legacy or older systems that rely on the expertise of a single baby boomer to support it, so what happens when that person retires? Oh wait, they just come back and volunteer.

2. Going green

If you talk to vendors, it is better to be green. But CIOs are not jumping on the green IT bandwagon -- even the largest organizations are taking a wait-and-see approach, which experts say is shortsighted.

My Comment, NPOs are all about causes, we are out to save the world. So why havent we seen the topic of green computing more on the fore-front for NPOs? I know my org has tossed around a few ideas, but I dont see any real understanding of what needs to be done or actions to move forward.

3. ITIL demands executive support.

It's true. The IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) isn't that controversial, but boy, is it talked about a lot.

My Comment, I have said this before, corporate IT is chatting heavily about some awesome standards like ITIL that can have a real impact on large organizations. But I am yet to meet too many NPTech staff that even knows what that is.

4. Social networking

Admit it. Sites such as YouTube and MySpace are the bane of a CIO's existence.

My Comment, Hmm, is this the opposite or the same for NPOs? I see so many people talking about how awesome these things are for NPOs, but is it the CIOs that like it or the mission people? I know at my org it is more like a problem than a solution. But I think that is because of a misunderstanding of it, not a reality.

5. Staffing

It was a good year to be looking for a job; a bit tougher if you were looking to hire.

My Comment, I think this is true for my org, when orgs were looking for new staff or new IT staff it was tough to find good ones at the right price. I think this is going to get even more exaggerated, although I think NPOs have a small advantage because I think there is going to be a large group of people looking to make a real difference. But can we show how IT staff can make a real difference and can we set up our NPOs in such a way that we actually leverage our IT staff beyond just the web site?

What do you think?