With all this rapidly growing technology reshaping industries, every company needs a CIO to help with how it affects their business. So, who is a CIO? A chief information officer(CIO) is a C-level executive who analyses how the convergence of diverse innovation can benefit the organization.
The challenges faced by a CIO
As digital transformation efforts progress, alongside organizational transformations the role of the CIO demands to clear roadblocks that hinder success.
a) Minimising Technical Debt – Ever heard of “technical debt”? It’s expediting a piece of functionality or project which can later be refactored. This decreases the agility of the project and can sometimes incapacitate the business. “Technical Debt” is sometimes intentional, the cries from the business for speed forces a trade-off between perfect outcomes and short timelines making this one of the most crucial impediments that have to be avoided. And who is expected to make this magic happen? CIOs, of course.
b) Preventing stumbling blocks from a client perspective – Up until now, we’ve been discussing how technology has the upper hand in today’s world and how technology has become a lifestyle for most of us. It is the CIOs who are burdened with the pressure to find positive ways to respond to this technical jump. However, as customers we are sometimes posed with slow response times, performance issues, data hiccups, bumpy user experiences, and outdated interfaces. As a CIO it is up to you to ensure an effortless customer experience which is the foundation of business progression. All this, keeping cost in mind.
c) Recruiting or Training an efficient IT team – Technology has been growing and so is its obsession, people are finding ways to incorporate technology in every part of their lives. Microservices make versatility, speed of delivery, and maintainability possible. When embedded in apps, AI delivers the multi experiences (chatbots, predictions, AR and VR, voice) that attract and retain customers and users. The challenge to every CIO is to finding or training developers and data scientists who can deliver intelligent apps and systems that not only develop your business but also focus on making a profit.
d) Maintaining a secure business network – The most prominent CIO challenge, and primary accountability is the health of the business’ network. Without a robust network, digitization efforts falter. Only with a sturdy network, will the CIO achieve the organization’s credibility and the responsibility of a leader.
The importance of a Chief Information Officer (CIO) in a Fortune Global 500 company.
Let’s talk about the fortune global 500 geographical distribution: Since 2001, there has been a significant change in the geographical distribution of the companies in the Global 500 rankings. The number of North American-based companies decreased from 215 in 2001 to 143 in 2017 and the contribution of Asian-based companies increased from 116 in 2001 to 197 in 2017. These companies span over most industries like retail, petroleum, energy, Internet services to automobiles and covering sectors in aerospace, constructions, healthcare, media, telecommunications & transportation to name a few from the latest top-ranked companies. Each one of them has its CIO leading its transformation initiatives. With the pace of technology accelerating exponentially CIOs are called to be more versatile, demonstrating a blend of skills. Not only do CIOs manage technical projects but they also innovate business models to help the organization maneuver through a technological outburst.
If we trace back to the 1980s when the role of CIO emerged as a job title, their job roles were specific and distinctive. However, with all these advancements and alterations there has been a need for CIOs to diversify their work methodology.
By now we know that CIOs are charged with working cross-functional efforts that demand collaboration and a more comprehensive leadership skill set, including powerful emotional intelligence. Thus driving business outcomes through the exploitation of the latest technologies while maintaining a legacy infrastructure to have a balance between ‘business as usual’ and ‘ seamless customer experiences”
In today’s uncertain economic environment, CIOs are privileged with their ability optimize systems horizontally and contribute to the needs of the global organization from both a technical and also a business perspective.
What is the impact a Chief Information Officer delivers
a) Channeling technology growth – With technology and business constantly intertwining, the role of the CIO is crucial. All this growing technology needs someone to control it. Looking at an organization from both a business perspective as well an innovation perspective is intricate however, it is not impossible. A CIO is someone who governs how internal and external affairs of the business affect each other.
b) Playing the mediator within the organization – Not only does a CIO need to have exquisite hard skills but also exemplary soft skills. A CIO interacts with C-level executives and other management personnel. Translating technical knowledge into consumable brevities impacts how the business flows within the organization and how this affects customer loyalty as well.
c) Managing an effective work culture – Talking about managing people within the organization, we need to understand that it is the job of a CIO to make sure that different teams under their sectors work not just in harmony but also effectively -from meeting deadlines to developing robust technology.
d) Upholding the organization’s values and objectives– The vertex of this discussion is that every organization that is aiming at success needs a fantastic CIO who can groom and direct the organization towards its goals.
All this while, we have been talking about how important the role of a CIO is. It’s time we take a moment to acknowledge and appreciate the individuals who are behind this designation, that kept the systems online right throughout the pandemic and facilitated remote working for first responders and essential workers. The amount of diligence that goes into such a ‘ Business Continuity” operation is unimaginable. I think we have established that the CIO is not only the backbone of an organization but having that capacity can attract pressure that requires smart work and hard work. With all that we have discussed, it’s safe to say that CIOs are the fulcrums of a sustainable business in these dynamic times.
