Partnering With the CIO: The Future of IT Sales Seen Through the Eyes of Key Decision Makers

Experience versus Expertise

David L. King is senior vice president and CIO at Regal Entertainment Group, the nation’s largest chain of movie theaters. Today the motion picture industry is going through its largest transition since talkies replaced silent movies in the late 1920s. This time around, digital media is replacing film. As a result, IT is moving from a supporting role in the back office to a leading role on the big screen.

Based in Knoxville, Tennessee, Regal is at the forefront of the digital movie revolution. As the owner-operator of 560 multiplex theaters, Regal’s technology challenges are enormous. On average, each multiplex has 11 screens showing five feature-length movies daily, 365 days a year. In digital format, each feature is about 300 to 400 gigabytes (GBs). The coming attractions add another 40 GBs to the load of information that must be distributed across Regal’s chain of cinemas.

“A lot of the technology required to accomplish all this on a routine basis doesn’t exist yet,” says King.

In this type of transformational environment, King looks for IT suppliers who are ready, willing, and able to serve as strategic partners. The challenge for King is identifying which suppliers are truly committed to long-term relationships and which suppliers are just seeking short-term wins.

There are two basic requirements for being considered as a strategic partner: enough experience to handle a complex, transformational engagement and enough depth to commit the spectrum ...