Driving Innovation and Growth Too much business or too much technology. That’s what you’ll be presented with when getting introduced to individuals in the IT leadership space. Each have their benefits and each have their flaws. The ultimate goal is an individual with both technology and business sense, but it consistently seems difficult to find. I primarily interact with IT leadership positions that have either of the two qualities, but not both. It’s a difficult concept to explain to each since they’re so focused and set in their ways. It’s counterproductive to the organization to have either, unless the
Category: CIO
Forging Connections that Drive Success Have you ever wondered why you’re not succeeding as a CIO? You have the technical knowledge, you know the ins-and-outs of anything and everything technology related, but your projects never make it past the board. What is going on? Why is it that you have great ideas but nobody else sees or cares about them. It’s probably due to the relationships that you should have built but haven’t. Let’s take a look at an important and often overlooked concept: relationship building. The First Year Your first year as a leader is filled with excitement. Normally
Future-Proofing IT Initiatives in a Dynamic Landscape I spoke with one of my friends recently about the technology that’s employed in his new company. He recently got a new role and realized how dated the previous business was. The conversation started like this. “So, guess what I’m working on,” he asked. “I’m not sure I follow,” I responded. “Guess what kind of computer I’m on,” he reiterated. “Dude, you got a Dell,” I jokingly replied. “A laptop,” he said, “a laptop in a docking station.” He and I were having this conversation about a couple of weeks prior to him
Guiding Tech Strategy and Innovation While highly dependent on the organization that employs the CIO, there are certain responsibilities that surface more often than not. Those include: managing technology infrastructure, overseeing IT security, managing data, and collaborating with other executives to align IT strategy with overall business objectives. Managing Technology Infrastructure My favorite phrase uttered by IT Leadership is, “we’ve spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on this infrastructure and it works for us.” While there are budgetary constraints that do affect those decisions, most of the time the reasoning is a lot simpler: they just don’t want to do
How CIOs Drive Tech Integration Success One expected place where a CIO will exist is in Merger and Acquisition deals. They need to do their due diligence, integrate IT into the acquisition, and manage cultural differences. These are just a few concepts outside of the regular key responsibilities that any CIO needs to perform. https://medium.com/geekculture/key-responsibilities-of-a-cio-5028833d7ebd Due Diligence In a merger and acquisition (M&A) scenario, the CIO plays a crucial role in assessing the IT systems, infrastructure, and operations of both the acquiring and the target organizations. The CIO must perform due diligence to identify any potential risks, opportunities, and challenges
The CIO’s Essential Skill As the top technology executive in an organization, the CIO needs to communicate effectively with the executive staff to ensure alignment of technology strategy with overall business strategy. I’ll frequently state that I can tell the maturity of the marketing department in an organization by one key word: digital. For example, if a marketing department states that they need a digital marketer, I automatically know that the marketing department is not up-with-the-times. Digital-Marketing is Marketing now and businesses can’t live without it. Similarly, when a mid-sized+ business states that they don’t need a CIO, I know
The CIO’s Vital Business Continuity Role Someone has to plan for disaster. The CIO normally takes on the role of business continuity planner. Technology is so finely integrated into each business that most business continuity plans involve IT in one shape or another. https://medium.com/geekculture/cio-the-master-communicator-edf03e0a9644 Why Even Do Business Continuity Planning? Business continuity planning helps to minimize downtime in the event of a disruption, which can help to reduce the impact on customers, employees, and the organization’s reputation. It helps to protect the organization’s revenue by ensuring that critical business processes and systems remain operational during a disruption. This can
Business Continuity Strategies from a CIO Perspective Developing business continuity strategies is a critical responsibility for the CIO. If you’ve wondered by reading through the articles whether the CIO ever sleeps, the answer is no. Identify critical IT systems and infrastructure The first step in developing business continuity strategies is to identify the critical IT systems and infrastructure that are essential to maintaining or restoring business operations in the event of a disruption. This may include identifying critical applications, servers, databases, and network infrastructure. Conduct a business impact analysis (BIA): This involves assessing the potential impact of a disruption on
Five Key Focus Areas for Tech Leaders In recent years, the role of the CIO has been evolving as technology continues to play an increasingly important role in business operations. In 2023, CIOs continue to focus on the following areas: Digital transformation Cybersecurity Cloud computing Artificial intelligence and machine learning Data management Digital transformation In 2023, CIOs will continue to lead the digital transformation efforts of their organizations. This will involve adopting new technologies such as AI, machine learning, blockchain, and the Internet of Things (IoT) to streamline operations, enhance customer experiences, and drive revenue growth. CIOs will need to
The Crucial Role of CIOs in Educating and Collaborating on IT Decisions One role that IT serves is maintenance inside of the organization. The role of the CIO/IT Director many times is speaking and educating individuals within the organization on why certain IT decisions are made. These are not siloed decisions but are instead collaborative and fully vetted from the business side. Sometimes they look unnecessary, but in reality they are. Most IT departments have more work than they can handle and are not looking to add on additional unnecessary work onto their plate. Which means that when specific IT