system errors and implement operational
improvements, but to leverage technology in
ways that support new corporate initiatives
and help generate new revenue streams –
and at the heart of such transformation lies
the CIO.
The need for better IT
According to IDG, 88% of today’s CIOs are
more involved in business transformation
than any other individual at their level within
their company. Once mainly reporting to
the CFO and boasting a strictly technical
background, the CIO’s role is becoming
more influential as technology is placed at
the heart of business strategy and many
organisations have changed the CIO’s
immediate report from the traditional CFO to
the CEO to ensure that there can be an open
dialogue and direct visibility.
In fact, so strategic has the role of the
CIO now become, that many well-known
innovative businesses have already
appointed previous CIOs as CEOs including
NHS Digital, Tesco, Reuters and BT
www.intelligentcio.com
Openreach, and according to technology
officers surveyed a few years ago by Korn/
Ferry, 51% aspire to be CEOs at some point
in their careers.
The need for a sharpened focus on IT,
and the subsequent rise of the CIO,
are significantly linked to the ‘instant
gratification world’.
Organisations worldwide, across all industries
are getting to grips with the fact that today’s
consumers are more demanding than ever.
Tech pioneers such as Amazon may be
to blame for this phenomenon, offering
customers such immediacy to the point
that if, for example, a retailer can’t
manage same-day delivery, it is promptly
disregarded for a competitor. Customers
want speed and simplicity so businesses
must enhance their digital capabilities to
deliver on these expectations.
That’s where the CIO comes in – their job
is to ensure the business is equipped with
the right technology and ensure that this is
constantly updated so as to keep up with
ever-evolving customer demands. In order
for this to be possible, CIOs and their teams
must increase emphasis on the customer
experience and build IT around user needs.
In order to develop an environment which
grows future leaders, CIOs need to reshape the
way that an organisation ‘does IT’. Delivering
outstanding service for internal and external
stakeholders is impossible without efficient
processes and streamlined operations.
Under the direction of the CIO, organisations
must implement the right tools in order to
enhance operational efficiency and improve
IT workflows. While there is certainly a need
for innovative solutions to business problems,
these simply cannot be implemented
without agile IT systems and culture.
If a CIO focuses exclusively on ideating and
leaves the ‘IT plumbing’ to others, they risk
taking the express elevator to the top floor
of the Ivory Tower, where grandiose ideas
are out of touch with business reality and
cannot be realised.
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