FEATURE : STATE OF THE CIO
“ When we talk about ‘ connected CIOs ’, what we also mean is that they are leaders and people that can overcome these challenges – they are experts in meeting business needs with technology and innovating in the face of numerous , and large , challenges . They can help navigate disruption and they can help strengthen business agility with multi-cloud . But when we talk about technology , it is easy to forget about the people behind it . One of increasing by almost 50 % over the past two years . A 2020 Ponemon Institute Cost of Insider Threats report , revealed that companies in the Middle East experienced the most insider incidents and are most likely to experience credential theft compared to other regions in the last year ,” he noted .
Given the challenging nature of the role of CIO , pundits are urging CIOs and IT teams
THERE ARE A MULTITUDE OF INDUSTRIES THAT ARE ALL RACING TO ADAPT TO THE DATA DECADE AND TO THE UNPRECEDENTED CHALLENGES WE ALL FACE . THAT GOES ACROSS THE BOARD FROM RETAIL TO MANUFACTURING TO FINANCE AND HIGH TECH .
the big challenges CIOs face is attracting , empowering and retaining talent with workplace technologies ,” he added .
Ghoush concurred on organisations being more digital and pointed out that the world today is more digital now than ever before , however , this has brought in its own share of consumer privacy and data security issues .
“ In 2020 , CIOs have faced significant challenges when it comes to storage of consumer data and cybersecurity . With the recent passing of the California Consumer Privacy Act ( CCPA ) and the European General Data Protection Regulation ( GDPR ), CIOs must now ensure that businesses are compliant with all these regulations ,” he said .
According to Saleh , 2020 will be remembered by CIOs as the year when organisations have had to re-think the way they work – resulting in mass migration to remote working , job insecurity , more unstructured work environments – which has only served to increase the cybersecurity risk .
“ Insider threat incidents presented another challenge this year , with their frequency to avoid certain pitfalls when implementing their Digital Transformation strategies .
Tshifhiwa Makhari , Managing Director , Oracle Services at iOCO said many CIOs and organisations make the mistake of thinking that Digital Transformation is a once off event and then it is done . “ This couldn ’ t be further from reality . Digital Transformation is less about the technology and more about the organisation ’ s strategy , structure , culture , capabilities and understanding of their customers ’ needs . Technology is just an enabler and therefore , CIOs must exploit the technology to enhance their effectiveness to respond to customer ’ s needs ,” he said .
Tinashe Katsande , Principal – Business Development Digital and Emerging Tech , Synthesis , said as the role of CIO shifts so does that of the IT teams they lead . Katsande said the CIO must ensure that they have the right people to carry out the vision and must also allow the team to redefine themselves and adapt to the changes happening around them .
“ CIOs should focus on evaluating emerging technologies and identifying opportunities to create new business value . Initially , organisations may have to streamline operations while the economy picks up again however , CIOs need to ensure that they are well-positioned to pounce on new opportunities once the global economy starts to recover ,” he said .
At virtualisation solutions vendor VMware , Ahmed Auda , Managing Director , Middle East , Turkey and North Africa ( METNA ), said the company has been working with CIOs to prioritise Business Continuity and to help deliver the digital solutions they will need to prosper as the world emerges from COVID-19 .
“ This is , we believe , what CIOs should be focusing on : Business Continuity to ensure that staff are able to work safely and securely , and customers are able to continue using the products and services they need , without interruption .
“ As the current crisis passes , CIOs need to be well-positioned to grow and tap new opportunities while also being aware that some aspects of doing business may have changed permanently ,” he said .
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