In an effort to get its name tripping off the boardroom tongue, the UK arm of Islandia, New York-based Computer Associates International Inc has published the results of a survey that concluded that corporate and information technology managers do not communicate – in particular, it would seem, about Computer Associates itself. The survey, entitled IT And Corporate Strategy – Towards A Common Goal, was carried out by Spikes Cavell & Co, a Newbury, Berkshire-based information technology research company, and shows that there is a difference in the way data processing managers and business managers view information systems within their company. However, the research concludes that there is a willingness to develop better communication in order to help technology serve the needs of the business, which should be good news for Computer Associates. The company, which supplies integrated systems management, database management and business applications software, claims to have more than 200,000 mainframe and mid-range customers, and said it is committed to protecting clients’ investments in their information systems by providing solutions to users across virtually all hardware boundaries. Marketing director Jay Huff said Computer Associates was a name well known among information technology managers, but that few board directors had heard of it. He explained that with companies incorporating technology into their overall business strategy, purchasing decisions for integrated computer systems were shifting from the information technology manager to the boardroom. So to plant its name firmly in the mind of board-level decision makers, and, the company claims, to help computer and business managers speak the same language, Computer Associates runs what it calls CEO Technology Retreats, intensive four-day courses where chief executives are taught everything from keyboard skills to speaking and understanding computer jargon. They are also given their own notebook computer, printer and modem, as well as being encouraged to take part in golf and tennis tournaments in their leisure time. Having started these retreats in the US in 1993, the company will run its first European retreat in Montreux, Switzerland at the end of October.
