TALKING BUSINESS
Cometh the hour, cometh the
‘Super CIO’
So, what must this new breed of CIO do
to succeed?
Given that the role of IT is being
transformed as drastically as the rest of
the enterprise, one challenge will be the
set of new ICT skills – data analytics,
security, application development,
mobile and enterprise architecture -
that are in increasing demand. The
IT business unit must be seen as an
enabler and driver of – and not a barrier
to – digital transformation.
The transformational CIO
The CIO is pivotal to the transformation
process and they face an increasingly
complex task.
CIO’s 16th (2017) State of the CIO
survey shows that the role is itself
transforming rapidly, from the core
traditional role of network, IT and
systems security, to leading the
digital transformation process with
an emphasis on winning customers
and driving revenue, innovation and
collaboration. 72% of CIOs surveyed
admitted their struggle to balance
business innovation and operational
excellence, while 87% said the CIO role
is more challenging than ever.
The good news is that 62% of CIOs
surveyed said they are not feeling
overwhelmed and actually find the job
more rewarding than before. It’s just
as well that IT leaders find the dual role
satisfying because the transformational
and functional responsibilities are now
part of the job.
Remember: digital transformation is not
a short-term operational challenge or
a technology project. It’s clear from the
study that CIOs are spending more time
on transformational activities such as
aligning IT initiatives with business goals
(53%) and cultivating the IT/business
partnership (38%).
When CIOs look ahead, the bi-modal
role shift becomes more dramatic: CIO
34
INTELLIGENTCIO
respondents expect to spend 7% of their
time on functional duties, compared
to 20% currently. The bimodal role
means that CIOs are part of the business
leadership team (not just function
leaders) with the dual role of establishing
and maintaining operational excellence
and security, combined with innovation
and business impact (more retained
customers and revenue).
For example, in the retail sector
across the Middle East, we see
more interaction between the CIO
and the CMO, as digital customer
engagement moves towards the centre
of the overall strategy for growth. The
customer relationship is at the heart
of the retail experience focusing on
engagement, payments, logistics and
communications.
Digital business transformation is
essentially a technology-enabled people
and process transformation - a change
process, but what technologies are CIOs
adopting to help them enable, drive,
support and sustain the transformation?
The CIO study suggests that emerging
technologies like AI and Internet of
Things (IoT), AR and VR, and wearables
are still relatively small components
of the company IT budget. This will
change quickly as digital transformation
gains momentum and the CIO
must master a new set of skills and
technologies, transform him/herself first,
lead the development of his/her own
department, and the wider company.
Silos have to go, and management
must accept the central role of digital
/ IT within the business, while the CIO
has to earn this trust and credibility – at
the heart of business. In fact, IT must
understand customers – internal and
external – and collaborators, and this
may mean actually meeting them! The
team may also need to move physically
and be seen as business-central and
business-centric, and no longer as ‘the
back office boys’.
The transformational CIO must be
skilled in building cross function
relationships, collaboration, influence,
and foster good team working – all high
level management and leadership skills;
as well as an advocate and evangeliser
of digital transformation.
In the new dual role of the CIO, the old
IT job spec remains – network, security,
systems, application architecture – and
a readiness to engage with everything
from BYOD to big data means CIO
budgets are stretched, staff are hard to
find and expertise is hard to keep.
The UAE is ready for digital
transformation and it’s a tough
assignment for CIOs who are increasingly
looking for experienced ‘digital partners’
to help guide and support them.
Change needs leadership and
transformational change demands a
new type of leader – this is why we
are starting to see the emergence of
a new-age digital business leader: the
‘Super CIO’. n
www.intelligentcio.com