CIO OPINION
And communicating effectively is more important than ever . Successfully conveying the tech strategy to internal stakeholders and partners is as important as the implementation of the strategy itself . In addition , CIOs can facilitate communication across the enterprise . They are uniquely positioned to see the bigger picture across the entire organisation , transcending departmental silos . Acting as a critical hub , CIOs can represent the needs of different parts of the business , which is especially important when rapid changes need to be implemented .
The acceleration of Digital Transformation
The promotion of the CIO to ‘ mission control ’ was well underway even pre-pandemic . Digital disruption and emerging technologies were already providing CIOs with more opportunities to innovate internally . By extension , they were called upon to hone their organisation ’ s competitive edge and uplift the customer and employee experience , with over 72 % of large businesses and 64 % of medium-sized business , already having an online and physical presence pre-pandemic .
The rise of remote work during the pandemic accelerated this transformation : 82 % said the CIO role has become more challenging compared to two years ago , as they confront a vast array of new challenges from the increasing use of AI and automation to talent acquisition among a global , remote workforce . Some of the most pressing challenges cited in Lenovo ’ s study include data privacy and security ( 66 %), cybersecurity and ransomware ( 66 %) and keeping up with technological change ( 65 %).
All of this means that today ’ s CIOs are under intense pressure to perform and deliver results according to critical business metrics , like creating new business opportunities and revenue streams .
Scalability = Flexibility
One way CIOs can tackle these challenges is to ensure their organisation ’ s tech stack is lean and nimble enough to handle complex transformation projects and respond quickly to external threats . In a digitised environment , an unnecessary delay at one discreet point can impact all areas of internal operations .
During the pandemic , organisations that were agile and flexible were able to minimise disruptions and experienced an almost seamless migration to remote work . This demonstrated the power of scalability as it enables companies to flex when they need to , responding quickly to sudden organisational demands or external threats , while mitigating risk .
Finding a suitable co-pilot
Faced with multiple priorities at once , CIOs are turning to tech vendors to keep up with the pace of technology while addressing critical business needs . In fact , many CIOs say they expect to work with vendors to help
The promotion of the CIO to ‘ mission control ’ was well underway even pre-pandemic .
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