CIO opinion
CIO OPINION
“
CIOS NEED
TO HAVE PATIENCE,
TRAIN THEIR IT TEAMS
AND GET THEM PAST THE
FEAR, UNCERTAINTY AND
DOUBT (FUD).
/////////////////
Chris Bedi, CIO at ServiceNow
How CIOs can foster an
agile IT organisation
Chris Bedi, CIO at
ServiceNow, says CIOs
can build an agile IT
organisation that is more
attuned to the needs of
the business. For example,
he suggests CIOs should
have their IT teams listen
to quarterly earnings calls
with analysts to help them
understand the strategic
goals of the business.
A
gility is a big deal. As companies embrace Digital
Transformation, we have stopped defending the old ways of
doing business. Instead, we focus on making sure appropriate
change occurs. We reorganise people, processes and technology to
empower change and drive tangible results. Organisational agility
matters now and is part of the business DNA.
In IT, we are used to thinking of agility in terms of the development team.
Today, it means more. CIOs need to build and present an entire agile IT
organisation, which requires giving some serious thought to the way the
organisation works. We must move to a new IT operating model.
This sounds daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. To start putting more
action behind all this talk of IT agility, CIOs have to lead their teams
through some fundamental shifts.
Automate everything routine
IT departments continue to fall into the same trap. Traditionally, 70%
to 80% of IT spending goes to maintenance and upkeep of legacy
systems – keeping the lights on – and only 20% on innovation to move
the business forward.
Most of us have operated under cost pressures, more in some industries
than others. Operating with half the IT staff, or sometimes less, is the
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