Network Communications News (NCN) September 2016 | Page 8

I NDUST RY NEW S
Future CIOs face more challenges
than ever before, says BCS
Future CIOs face a number of new challenges that will require significantly more than
just keeping up to date with technology, according to a recent white paper, published by
BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT. The paper, entitled The CIO of the Future, examines
the shift in the role of CIOs at three key levels – focusing on customers, embracing new
disruptive technologies and developing a new mix of capabilities in the IT department.
Jon Buttriss, CEO of BCS L&D, part of BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, said, ‘The
future CIO, and their team, will require a set of skills which reach far beyond technology.
It is vital that the focus centres on customers, as well as managing business needs.
Capabilities around business expertise and relationship management will become
increasingly important as future IT digital leaders address their organisational objectives.’
The white paper highlighted that:
Alignment of technology to business and customer needs is of primary importance,
but putting focus onto customers is an important shift required from CIOs who are
more used to focusing directly on business needs.
Disruptive new technologies need to be embraced, but effective technology management
needs to provide governance to protect business and customer assets and data.
Some technology skills need to be developed within the IT department – for example
around data science and architecture. But capabilities around business expertise,
relationship management and emotional intelligence and influence are likely to become
more important as core technology delivery becomes increasingly commoditised.
Jon continued, ‘It’s essential that future CIOs roadmap the required skills to
transform their organisation to address the significant shifts in the worlds of business and
technology. For the IT leaders that don’t shy away from the challenges, the future has
never been brighter for them to lead against their competitors.’

06-8 Industry News.indd 8

Tenable Network Security
survey shows IT security
professionals in Europe
A survey conducted during Infosecurity Europe 2016 by
Tenable Network Security has found that the majority of IT
security professionals can only measure the return on less
than 25 per cent of their security spend.
‘It’s undisputed that security is one of the top
priorities for organisations across the globe,’ said Gavin
Millard, EMEA technical director, Tenable Network
Security. ‘However, our research revealed that many
organisations struggle to accurately measure the
return on IT investment and have little confidence
that the money is being used effectively. This lack of
accountability creates a gap between the security team
and the C-suite, leaving the organisation vulnerable.’
Survey data of 250 IT security professionals showed just
17 per cent of respondents felt confident that the money
being spent on security was being invested properly.
‘The security team needs to understand the business
needs of the organisation, define and map security
requirements based on those needs, collect relevant metrics
and measure their success,’ said Millard. ‘This is one of the
best ways to not only demonstrate the value of IT, but also
ensure security across the entire IT environment.’

30/08/2016 17:15