What Keeps CIOs Up at Night? The Pace of Digital Transformation

Technology changes on what feels like a daily basis.

It’s hard enough for employees to keep up; it’s especially so for CIOs. After all, they’re human, too, but since they are in charge of all things information technology, everyone expects them to know, well, everything:

 The latest nationwide cyberattack? They must not only know about it, but how to ensure their company doesn’t become a victim.

• IT security regulations? They’re expected to be able to recite them verbatim.
• The up-to-the-minute tools to protect employee and client privacy?

CIOs are expected to be superhuman.

So what’s a CIO to do?

First, understand that keeping on top of everything is impossible, so cut yourself some slack.

The good news is that more CIOs understand this is the case:

• 58 percent of CIOs say digital transformation is only going to continue to speed up.
• 93 percent say the IT department’s ability to “maximize value” for a company is hampered by these challenges. (It also doesn’t help that companies’ IT and business teams tend to work in silos.)
• 78 percent say they’re “done” with putting pieces of data together from several different tools so that they can assess the impact of the company’s IT investments on its revenue, etc.
• 40 percent say “limited collaboration” across BIzDevOps teams is upsetting IT’s ability to act quickly to address “sudden changes” (i.e.: crises).

So perhaps the BEST thing a CIO can do is….

Get with the C-suite team and make some changes.

Remind fellow executives that if the IT team can’t keep up, it’s only a matter of time before a technological disaster strikes the company.

It’s akin to ignoring the “check engine” light because you’re too busy to head to the mechanic. Wait too long, and it will cost hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars more to fix whatever is ailing your automobile.

Understand that it’s NOT all about IT

Many CIOs already understand this.

To stay on top of the technological transformation, the CIO’s role is not to suggest the latest in whiz-bang tech for its own sake but to partner with the finance, marketing, and administration departments to understand the company’s top needs and goals and to create an IT road map that will help the business achieve its stated organizational goals.

And that may include massive changes in how the company has done business – as in tearing down the silos mentioned above.

The digital transformation path

 Here’s an excellent question: what are the outcomes the business wants to achieve for employees and customers.  Once this is known, IT leaders can align their goals with desired business outcomes.

• IT and different departments need to work together to fix what’s broken. IT can take the lead, but it needs to partner with other key stakeholders to solve problems.
• Focus on technological tools that focus on customer outcomes. For example, cloud software and embracing AI can help accelerate change towards transforming operation efficiencies as well as responding to customer expectations.
• Retrain all employees in critical digital tools. Employee savvy and skills need to align with customer preferences (personalization, 24/7 service, protecting personal information from fraud, etc.).
• The Intersect Group’s Business Intelligence CoE is available to help companies brainstorm options for their digital transformation

All of this WILL take time

Think of “digital,” and most of people think of instant results. Companies need to move away from that notion in order to make the needed technological and “business silo elimination” changes. Yet once the changes are complete, CIOs and their team members will be able to keep up with IT changes more easily and quickly.

Let The Intersect Group help you find the top-notch IT professionals you’ll need moving forward for your temporary, contract, contract-to-hire, and direct-hire needs.

Take a look at just a few of the great IT pros we currently have in our talent roster, and contact us to learn how they can become a part of your team.