In the old days of doing business, certain executives had specific goals. The CFO worried about finances, the COO managed the day-to-day operations and the CIO handled technology and data management. That’s starting to change as new technology has promoted collaboration and more executives are inheriting additional roles and conducting more tasks.

An article in Computerworld suggests that chief information officers are becoming increasingly involved in standard business decision-making processes. As technology becomes a more important component of daily operations, it’s up to those in charge of managing technology and technology workers to find a common ground between IT and standard business processes.

Brent Gregory, the IT Director at timber and wood products provider Potlatch, spoke with the news source about the tactics he implements with his employees. He indicated that he encourages his IT workers to become better informed about the ins and outs of wood and timber so they know exactly how their technological prowess is helping the company.

“The goal is to have these IT people take ownership of the applications that most matter to these groups,” Gregory said. “I’m really trying to push them to do the same work I’m doing for their particular specialties. I’m trying to focus more on getting with the moneymakers of the company.”

Getting everyone on the same page may be a strong idea in theory, but it requires a tremendous amount of collaboration, which much be handled with the utmost efficiency. FileMaker-based custom software to promote data sharing is an ideal solution because custom application development in this environment can create flexible and scalable solutions. This would let businesses give valid users a proper level of access and allow for fast and easy communication.