What Does It Mean To Be Tomorrow's Cio?
In order to understand the tomorrow¡¯s CIO, it becomes imperative to look at the present day CIO. The major responsibilities of the present day CIO has been mainly to integrate the information technology processes with the business model, to make proper selection of the right vendor and the outsourcing partner and also to deliver the right services using the ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) processes. And these functions come under the basic banner of CIO unveiling leadership capability, vision for the organization and team-building, development of new technology and innovation, budgeting, customer management, collaboration and communication along with the ability to meet stringent deadlines. Among the most potential attributes that a CIO unleashes, CIO¡¯s main priority has been managing IT infrastructure up till now.
The roles and responsibilities would remain the same even tomorrow but the only change required would be to prioritise his role as a leader. Among all the attributes, leadership and the lure for innovation is the tomorrow¡¯s exigency for CIO which unfortunately remained inexplicable or either the highest cover for CIO. With the business models acquiring a new shape, it¡¯s time the CIO should undergo a complete makeover in terms of the functional traits. And, more than just being on the IT front, the business of tomorrow demands him to be more business-savvy than being just a tech-savvy.
Although many CIOs have come up to be a part of decision-making and are handling businesses in a much better way but much is expected out of him realizing the present day business needs. It seems relevant at this point to view the challenges that have been confronting the CIO of today.
The Challenges faced by CIO today:
* The high costs associated with the IT infrastructure up scaling and maintenance.
* Unable to integrate technology with the business change models.
* Inability to attract and retain the talented human capital.
* Unable to exert influence over other functional divisions.
* Unable to change the internal culture in his IT department. Even if the latest technology is outsourced, the IT executives do not relent to take up additional pressure and change.
* With the existence of other priorities surfacing, a CIO is unable to cope up and bring about a transformational change.
The ever changing needs of business and technology require a CIO to be in alignment with a CTO who can visualize the technological changes and so design suitable strategies for bringing the latest technology to the forefont. A CIO should be informed of each and every step taken by CTO in order to effectively implement it.
How can a CIO be tomorrow¡¯s dream weaver of the IT industry is a big question? This is only possible when a CIO views the opportunities available to him and how he makes the best utilization of them. The opportunities existing before him are:
* An ample of IT tools so that he can leverage them with the existing business processes.
* An ample of customer and business data to boost sales and growth.
* The increasing number of users of the IT tools and services allows for future product development.
What needs to be done? A CIO should take up the following initiatives in order to be proactive and to be tomorrow¡¯s leader.
He:
* should ensure that the IT house is not in unrest and is completely in order.
* should show able leadership by optimizing the business processes.
* should be visionary and be above rather than just the management of IT infrastructure.
* Should be able to take pressure from the CFO or CEO and be able to manage the team members.
* should be able to eliminate virtually all the technical difficulties arising at any point of time.
* should be a ¡°change catalyst¡± and be able to bring complete behavioural transformation in the IT staff so as to combat competition from the outer world.
Above all, a CIO who can change the structure of the IT house by leading and adding value to the business the organization is into.
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