Nissan Americas:
The Expanding Role of IT in Product Development








 



 

 Linda Goodspeed, a speaker at the marcus evans CIO Summit 2011, says today’s CIO needs to form strong partnerships across all business processes to ensure the seamless delivery of new products.

Interview with: Linda Goodspeed, Vice President of Information Systems, Nissan Americas



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


The role of Information Technology (IT) has evolved from a back office internal operation to play a central part in the development and launch of new products, according to Linda Goodspeed, Vice President of Information Systems Nissan Americas. A speaker at the marcus evans CIO Summit 2011 in Dallas, Texas, April 11-13, Goodspeed believes today’s Chief Information Officer (CIO) needs to be both a visionary and strategy-setter who can galvanize the IT function.


What is the role of IT in new product development at Nissan? 


Linda Goodspeed: In the past it was very limited, mainly because engineering handled all the interfaces with the vehicle and did not have much communication with IT vendors. With the launch of the Nissan Leaf electric vehicle and the telematics associated with it, coordination was needed with more software-based suppliers in the IT space. IT became more involved with end-user testing of the vehicle and coordination of the different IT vendors. IT also worked very close with marketing to launch iPhone and iPad applications. Resources from IT, marketing and engineering were pulled together and changed the way we work with vendors to launch a vehicle.


Can you explain IT interaction in the launch of the electric vehicle?


Linda Goodspeed: IT is going to be more permanently involved in the product development cycle going forward as the vehicle itself has become a mobile device. However, I believe we need to enhance the engineering group to include human factors consideration so the user acceptance testing is done in the development group as part of product development cycle. There will be a spot for IT in the development process in terms of the networks requirements, vehicle communication and the launch of the vehicle through web advertising but vehicle component development needs to remain in engineering. There is a great deal of talent in IT on the technical side that can now be deployed within a product development process.


What are the current challenges facing CIOs?


Linda Goodspeed: The biggest challenge is the ever increasing demand that all business functions now have for IT. Every single region is pulling on IT and wants more technical solutions to help run their business better. This is because it has become such a competitive advantage to provide information from ideation through to the manufacture and vehicle delivery. It is a challenge to balance everyone’s needs, whilst still trying to optimize and commonize some of the software globally.


How do you see the role of the CIO growing in this decade?


Linda Goodspeed: The importance of the role will be elevated. The CIO will have to be a visionary and a strategy-setter. From a resource management point of view, perhaps the resources that were in IT may be increasingly outsourced for the more technical skills. I believe senior executives are going to look to the CIO to pull together that entire plan and make sure it meets all the business requirements. Some IT trends are showing that the business relationship manager is becoming the most important person in interpreting what the business needs and defining how IT moves forward.


How can companies combat security threats and safeguard corporate data?


Linda Goodspeed: Network security is a problem especially as we are now so globally connected with single networks in some cases. We have a comprehensive plan to implement and continuously refresh the latest technology in terms of access control and protection. However, there is always going to be a human element involved, as the people who are breaking into systems are extremely sophisticated and ever changing. A quick response is needed to be able to deal with the major issues.



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Maeve McGovern
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marcus evans
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About the CIO Summit 2011


This unique forum will take place at the Ritz-Carlton, Dallas, Texas, April 11-13, 2011. Offering much more than any conference, exhibition or trade show, this exclusive meeting will bring together esteemed industry thought leaders and solution providers to a highly focused and interactive networking event. The Summit includes presentations on virtualization, social networking and IT-business alignment.


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