FEATURE: STATE OF THE CIO
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The role of the CIO has
evolved strategically over
the years and continues
to do so as technology
innovates. We hear from
a number of experts who
discuss the transformative
power of technology
and how it is having
an impact on the CIO’s
responsibilities in today’s
modern workplace.
also seen CIOs transition away from IT
management and into a more strategic role,
considering how IT can add business value.
“The role of the CIO has come a long way
over the years. Previously, many business
decisions were made simply with a calculator
to add up income and subtract costs – so
the idea of someone creating a technology
‘strategy’, let alone using machines to drive
real business value, was ludicrous,” said Neil
Barton, CTO at WhereScape.
“Now, CIOs are vital. With the greater depth
and breadth of data available, decision-
making has become more complex. At the
same time, many insights are needed in
seconds, rather than days, weeks or months.
A technology strategy must address that and
a CIO that both understands the needs of
business leaders and the support technology
can provide, is critical.”
Technology and the CIO
s we continue to embrace digital
transformation and innovation,
the role of the CIO is continuously
transforming. The CIO’s position became
normalised in the 1980s, however,
organisations have relied on IT well before
the 1980s. Typically, roles such as this were
filled by IT managers and IT leaders who
often spent their days in data centres. Not only have we seen this role develop since
the 80s, but as Todd Krautkremer, CMO at
Cradlepoint explained, the past couple of
years have had a major impact: “Over the
last decade, especially the last five years, the
role of the CIO has evolved as dramatically
as the technology domains that comprise
modern IT organisations. Now, the CIO has
a broad purview – it can extend backwards in
time to mainframe technology, or forwards
to fog computing, Artificial Intelligence (AI)
and Blockchain.
One of the main changes the role of the
CIO has seen is that IT leaders and experts
now have a place in the C-suite structure,
which fundamentally reflects the growing
importance of IT. More recently, we have “Today’s CIO is a true business leader;
holding a unique vantage point within
the corporation they serve. On the one
hand, they are acting as a guide to the
CEO on the business implications of digital
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transformative
technology
on the state of the CIO
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