CIO OPINION
C-Suite, rather than just a background role
that reports into the board, and even pave
the way towards them becoming a future
Retail CEO.
The evolution of the Retail CIO
The role of the CIO has evolved
tremendously over the last decade,
alongside the growth of technology in the
business from a gimmick, to a nice to have,
to an absolute necessity that empowers
competitiveness, innovation and ultimately,
profit. This has meant that in many sectors,
the CIO has shifted from being a traditional
non-leadership IT role that focuses purely
on just running the IT helpdesk and
providing internal customer service to
technology users.
The modern CIO is more likely to have
responsibilities more wide-reaching than
IT and doesn’t just need technical know-
how but must also be able to contribute
to corporate strategy. The role is changing
so much that 70% of CIOs interviewed
by Forbes claimed that because of the
importance of technology to the business
and the fact that the CIO is becoming so
involved in the organisation’s strategy, that
there is an increasing chance their next
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INTELLIGENTCIO
“
EVERY RETAILER
IS DIFFERENT AND
AN IMPORTANT
WAY TO STAY
COMPETITIVE
IN TODAY’S
OVERCROWDED
ONLINE MARKET
IS TO BE DOING
SOMETHING
DIFFERENT AND
INNOVATIVE.
helpdesk-focused CIO. Yet, according to
Gartner, the retail-based CIO specifically
gravitates more towards this traditional side.
They are less likely to have responsibilities
outside of the core IT structure than CIOs
operating in other sectors, with just 22% of
retail CIOs having responsibilities relating to
digital sales and e-Commerce, and only 16%
relating to business strategy.
This is surprising and somewhat worrying
as in today’s tumultuous retail landscape,
an innovative and knowledgeable CIO can
act as a digital driving force in the retail
business, pushing the organisation towards
digital success.
The CIO as a key to retail success
promotion will see them become a CEO. This
is a big step for a role that in the past didn’t
even report to the CEO, rather working under
the CFO or COO. In digital-first retail organisations, the
CIO should be seen as an enabler of success.
The CIO can push forward innovative
ideas by being dynamic, articulate and
persuasive. This is particularly important if
the CEO, or other members of the board,
are traditionalists or reluctant to move away
from what has been successful in the past.
The modern, successful and strategic CIO
requires a different mindset to the traditional Unfortunately, by and large, being a
traditionalist in retail is not a successful
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