CIO opinion
CIO OPINION
“
THE LINE OF
BUSINESS LEADER WILL
ENGAGE WITH THE CIO
AND HELPS TO IDENTIFY
PROCESSES THAT CAN BE
DIGITALLY TRANSFORMED.
/////////////////
Allan Leinwand, Chief Technology Officer, ServiceNow
CIOs or line of business
leaders: Who leads
Digital Transformation?
Allan Leinwand, Chief
Technology Officer, ServiceNow,
asks who should lead Digital
Transformation: CIOs or
line of business leaders? He
argues that although both
are equal, both are pushing to
control the process of Digital
Transformation.
O
n my way to the office last week, I was stopped at a stoplight
that only allowed three cars through before turning red again.
The red and the green seemed to fight for control. In my
frustration, I wondered who had created such a thing?
With a quick search I learned that traffic officers controlled the flow
of traffic in large cities before the invention of the electric traffic light.
This was the case from at least 1722 until 1912, when a policeman in
Salt Lake City, Utah invented the red–green electric traffic light. He,
in a sense, automated and digitally transformed a process that had
been in place for nearly 200 years. But which is more powerful, the red
or green light?
There is a strong parallel to the leadership of Digital Transformation
initiatives within the enterprise.
Green and red
In our business, there seems to be a debate about who leads Digital
Transformation. In my mind, I envision IT as the green light and line
of business as the red light. Both are equal yet both push for control
of Digital Transformation. And, like a traffic light, both should work
together to help digitally transform their organisation.
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