The Changing Role of the CIO

The Changing Role of the CIO infographic from Wikibon explores the varying roles of the CIO. The prominence of the CIO position has risen greatly as information technology has become an increasingly important aspect of the modern organization.  The amount of information that companies ahve to deal with and make sense of is only going to continue to increase.

CIOs today have a top operational and strategic priority (not technology priority) to support the mission of the business through the application of technology. While they are under pressure to reduce costs, CIOs must deliver agility and efficiency to the organization. The CIO is also VERY concerned about risk. CIOs don’t want to disrupt what’s working while chasing new opportunities.

Think of the CIO as managing a portfolio of applications, technologies, people and processes. The technology portfolio is allocated to initiatives that are designed to 1) Run the business 2) Grow the business and 3) Transform the business. Like a good portfolio manager, the CIO must balance risk and reward by allocating resources in a balanced manner. The degree of risk is a function of the objectives of the board of directors and the strategic plan and operating plans of the companies.

I really like the topic, and the information covered in this design.  However, there isn’t a clear path for the reader to follow the information story down the design.  It’s crowded, and has different data scattered throughout the design.

Four things are missing from the bottom of the design: a copyright statement, the URL where readers can find the original infographic landing page, credit to the designer(s) and SOURCES.  Where did the data come from?  Why should we believe it?

Thanks to Jay for sending in the link!

The Science of Salary

Salary Science builds on the information from Jim Hopkinson’s book, Salary Tutor, and the SalaryTutor.com site.  Designed by Shaun Sanders, the infographic is not actually from the book.  Instead, it shares information that goes above and beyond the book, as a great way to build awareness and help promote the book.

Jim has also published an in-depth, behind-the-scenes look at the making of the infographic on his blog: How to create a viral infographic to market your brand.  You learn about his planning process, the infographic design cycle that Shaun goes through and see early images of the infographic taking shape.

I really appreciate some of the design choices they made along the way, and think the infographic is a super way to attract interest and promote Jim’s brand.  If you’re interested, here’s a link to the book on Amazon as well.  A must-read in my library.

What Can You Expect to Earn in the Valley?

What Can You Expect to Earn in the Valley?, from Column Five Media for Focus.com, takes a look at the Silicon Valley salary levels.

Silicon Valley earns its famous reputation not just from the fortunes that entrepreneurs create, but also from the high-paying careers available to tech-savvy employees. However, the area is also known for its incredibly high cost of living. Is working in the Valley really worth it? And how much can you expect to make in the nation’s most celebrated tech scene?

This one uses some simple visualizations, but it does a good job of putting the data and the company logos right into the charts. I would have liked to see one more visualization showing a conclusion that the higher salaries do cover the higher cost of living or not.

Thanks to Jarred for sending in the link!

Client Infographic: The 2011 SAP Salary Survey

The 2011 SAP Salary Survey is a new (tall) infographic InfoNewt (my company) designed for Panaya, a software-as-a-service company that provides upgrade automation to SAP customers.  The team at Panaya runs this survey annually to gather information about SAP professionals, and shares it publicly as a source of valuable information to current and future clients.

In 2011, the number of participants more than doubled to over 800. So, while as an online survey it should be taken with a grain of salt, we believe it is more representative of current realities. We tried to focus on issues that are of interest to the global SAP community versus regional issues.

For example:

• Are Europeans earning more than Americans? (Hint: No)
• Is there gender bias among SAP professionals?
• Is there a correlation between education and pay level?
• What are the top paying jobs?
• What is the outlook for 2011?

You can read the detailed report here.

The infographic is only a top-level summary of the detailed report, and gives Panaya a great way to build awareness and share the survey results broadly with the online community.

Thanks to Udi and the rest of the team at Panaya!  There’s much more information available at Panayainc.com and ERP Executive: The Magazine for SAP Managers.

Top Jobs for Critical Thinking

While I was on the ThinkWatson.com site last week, I also found the Top Jobs for Critical Thinking.  I like how the design of this one turned out.  Using readily available salary data, they made the data relevant to their site in a very appealing infographic way.

Where Does the Money Go?

From the nytimes.com, this graphic visually represents how average consumer spending breaks down, and the color code shows how much spending in that category has changed in the last year. For example, Gasoline is 5.2% of an average consumer's spending, and it has risen 26% from 2007 to 2008.

As far as I can tell, this is actually a treemap, but in a new shape. More details pop-up when you mouse over each of the individual shapes.

Thanks to Tony, for sending in the link.

Radial Organization Chart

Found on Visual Complexity, this chart from 1924 is an interesting variation of an organization chart. With the authoritarian leader in the center, the subordinates are mapped outward from the center. Rings at different radii show peer level responsibility.

The Wealthiest Americans Ever

From the NYTimes in July 2007, an interactive infographic ranking the Wealthiest Americans after you convert their fortunes to today's dollars using the relative share of G.D.P.

Scrolling your pointer over the photos or the fortune amount shows more detail of the individual. Lots of black & white portraits! Only current rich folk Bill Gates and Warren Buffet made the list with color portraits.

Executive Salary Comparison

Portfolio.com has a number of good interactive infographics on their News & Markets/Multimedia page.

This Salary Comparison is simple but hugely informative showing the difference in number and visual representation of size, but also over time as you move the slider on the left. In 2005 the difference between the average worker and the CEO is so large it doesn't fit on the screen anymore. But that is down from 2000 when the difference was the largest at 548x.