TRENDING
WAEL EL KABBANY Vice President , MENA and Eastern Mediterranean , BT Global Services
NEARLY TWO IN THREE SENIOR IT DECISION MAKERS FEEL THE CIO IS FORCED TO SPEND MORE TIME MAINTAINING CURRENT IT SYSTEMS , THAN TO SEARCH FOR NEW SOLUTIONS . SENIOR IT DECISION MAKERS SURVEYED ALSO CITED PRESSURES FROM DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION CREATING NEW CHALLENGES FOR THE CIO , SUCH AS IMPLEMENTING DIGITAL STRATEGY ORGANISATION-WIDE ...
Despite the fast-changing CIO role , old practicalities and pressures remain . Nearly two in three senior IT decision makers feel the CIO is forced to spend more time maintaining current IT systems , than to search for new solutions . Senior IT decision makers surveyed also cited pressures from digital transformation creating new challenges for the CIO , such as implementing digital strategy organisationwide , developing new business models to cope with increased connectivity and engagement , and finding the right talent .
Our survey shows that many business leaders driving digital transformation are not in IT , with almost one-fifth of IT spending in the next two years taking place outside the IT department . The relationship between IT and the increasingly empowered end-user is more complex . However , CIOs are not threatened by this and see it as an opportunity for IT to work better in partnership with other parts of the organisation .
For example , choice , agility , flexibility , speed , security and reliability are key attributes for cloud . Hence , CIOs are looking for a cloud solution that combines network , cloud services , professional services skills , and security expertise to provide users with easy and safe access to required applications and data . This gives CIOs the confidence to let their partners and colleagues discover their Digital Possible .
When Digital Possible is viewed in the context of service management , it throws the spotlight on the traditional silo-based approach to managing IT and communications services , which has increased complexity and operating costs in step with the rise in technology adoption . The future of digital IT service management will be defined by the ability to manage your network , IT assets and applications from one solution , regardless of what it is , where it is and who is managing it .
This requires a solution that isolates the fault domain in the first instance , in a matter of seconds – one that will also offer application visibility and control . True digital service integration calls for better visualisation of the service layers which are ICT vendor-agnostic .
Without exception , every CIO considers the digitisation of business to be a personal priority .
As champions of positive change , CIOs have started seeing their IT function evolve as a key enabler of innovation and disruption . The new role of IT is to increase business flexibility , whilst ensuring data security , robust infrastructure and efficiencies of scale across the organisation .
Technology has never been more vital , with one CIO telling us that “ this is the age of the network ”.
Today , CIOs need to be strategic , creative , growth-oriented and costconscious . They need to understand both technology and people , and balance control with empowerment . The most successful CIOs are embracing change rather than resisting it .
This makes the digital CIO one of the most demanding roles in business today .
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