The CIO’s responsibilities have been transitioning to a strategic role for the past few years. Although CIOs have been historically responsible for deploying, managing, and maintaining organization-wide IT systems, their organizations now understand that digital innovation is key to survival and success. Because of this, organizations are looking to CIOs to ensure their digital and business strategies must align.
Scott duFour, Global CIO, Fleetcor shared his views on our recent Blog post on the topic "CIOs are Connecting the Dots Between Technology and Business Strategy”.
How the CIO role has transformed into one of the most important roles in a business?
1. Evolving Beyond Traditional IT
Without a doubt, the COVID-19 crisis elevated the role of the modern-day CIO. In 2018, a Deloitte Global CIO survey revealed fewer than 10% of CIOs gained company-wide support to lead digital transformation. Further, 55% of CIOs surveyed functioned as trusted operators focusing on IT efficiency, reliability and cost containment – rather than business transformation.
Enter a global pandemic and an organization-wide change of mentality. As digital transformation catapulted to the forefront, the Office of the CIO has led the charge.
CIO Responsibility: The CIO’s responsibilities have been transitioning to a strategic role for the past few years. Although CIOs have been historically responsible for deploying, managing, and maintaining organization-wide IT systems, their organizations now understand that digital innovation is key to survival and success. Because of this, organizations are looking to CIOs to ensure their digital and business strategies must align.
For example, when I started in my current role in 2019, I was tapped to align priorities between IT and the company’s lines of business. So, I created an objective IT scorecard that reports how IT is performing operationally and financially, including how projects, initiatives, and transformation proposals are progressing. The pandemic only sped up this process, and it proved to be valuable as digital transformation matured from nice-to-have to a business requirement.
2. A Star is Born
As companies adopt a digital-first corporate culture, it’s the CIO’s time to shine.
CIO Strategy: Today’s CIO does more than strategically manage IT systems and security protocols. The organization’s top IT leader knows the importance their department has in driving business transformation – and keeping its information and data systems secure. This has been especially true since workforces went remote, and IT helped implement technology to keep business moving forward.
CIOs are known for their technical skills and understand, at least on some level, newer technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), blockchain, and the Internet of Things (IoT). CIOs also understand the value these solutions have to an organization’s success as competition and digitization intensify – and security becomes even tougher to manage with workforces in dispersed locations.
As the CIO takes on more responsibilities, other IT leaders often take on roles left behind, so the CIO can focus on driving the business forward.
3. With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility
An IBM study found a CIO’s prominence comes with corresponding challenges. Technology is continuously increasing its role as a differentiator for companies, and IT leaders who can help innovation cycles with a better understanding of the business and application of technology will have more opportunities available to them.
These leaders often manage hundreds or thousands of applications, sometimes globally. They must ensure core IT services keep daily operations going, while driving innovation at the same time – with budget constraints and a talent shortage.
“The broad scope of responsibilities for these CIOs means they may struggle for resources, contend with conflicting priorities and difficult trade-offs, and may not always be fully recognized for the breadth and reach of their accomplishment,” the IBM report states.
Knowing this, it’s understandable that CIOs are often seen as up-and-coming CEOs. Their role in shaping business models with innovative technology is immense – and is an impetus behind an organization’s ability to digitally transform. For CIOs and IT professionals to strengthen and broaden their skillset, they can join an organization of other IT professionals, volunteer to serve on its board or in another capacity, or seek a mentor who can offer career advice.
The CIO’s job is increasingly complex and important. No longer thought of as just that person who ensures computers are working, the CIO must juggle an array of responsibilities critical for an organization’s success.
For me personally, I embrace the role of CIO and the opportunities it presents for shaping the business landscape in the future. I can only imagine my peers share that same exuberance.
The success of digital transformation not only relies on CEOs of enterprises anymore. Latest reports indicate that CIOs play a critical role in the strategic discussions and successful implementation of digital transformation (DX).
Why enterprise CEOs must involve CIOs when it comes to investing in digital solutions for their business? What role IT plays in DX success?
If you’re someone seeking answers for the above questions, well, this post is exclusively for you.
Understanding the impact IT on digital transformation
As digital transformation is all about reinventing a business’ model, people, technology through advanced digital solutions, this will have a massive impact on your vendor and customer relationships too.
The only difference between the digital transformation then and now is the way you capture data. While the digital technologies in the past helped us garner data discretely, we are able to extract collective data from different channels without any discomfort. This data-driven advantage is what digital transformation is all about.
SEE ALSO: “3 Points to Choose a Digital Transformation Partner“
Most digital transformations fail because of high-level decisions of C-level executives who don’t consider the technology scalability, infrastructure, employee adoption challenges while preparing the company for the digital push.
Why IT matters for successful business transformation
Since the merger of IT with enterprises, enterprise success has improved significantly. However, most digital transformation programs were performed by companies with limited or zero involvement of CIOs. What this could mean to your business is that you might be facing practical challenges during implementation, the program may not be supported by your workforce.
Currently, IT help companies with
- Adding innovative value to the business for improved market competitiveness
- Differentiating value to the business
- Accelerating time-consuming business operations with innovative technologies
- Preventing business from failures and outage technologies, techniques
On the other hand, if the enterprise CEOs can utilize IT properly, the results will be surprisingly better.
IT as your corporate visionaries
Here are some of the practical benefits CIOs of enterprise can provide to your business.
- They understand your present business infrastructure better and will help you with something better than what you’ve currently.
- They have a better grasp of the technology, tools innovation required to boost your business
- They will play a vital role in the new technology adoption of employees during and post transitions
- They will help your business with better directives on budget and infrastructure challenges when it comes to picking the right vendor
- Finding a simple, flexible way to manage software investments for your business is extremely difficult without the help of IT as they your business model better than anyone in the company.
Here are the new roles that IT will play in the current business landscape by joining hands with the CEOs of enterprises.
- Achieve organizational technical respect for IT through flawless execution (Forbes)
- Gain IT business respect through business understanding and non-technical engagement (Forbes)
- Increase CEO/C-Suite willingness to listen to and consider business-oriented innovative coming from the CIO personally and/or those with IT as a whole (Forbes)
- Enhance IT’s creative and innovative nature and ability (Forbes)
- Internally “market” IT’s competence, creativity and innovative nature (Forbes)
- Move IT’s reputation from “Technology Subject Matter Expert” to “Business Thought Leader and Internal Change Agent” (Forbes)
Simply put, CIOs have to work hand-in-hand with the corporate heads to strategize, plan, and implement a digital transformation program that benefits their employees, customers, vendors in the long run.
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