Solve the 5 Biggest Problems with CIO As A Service
With a host of new technology concerns in 2018, keeping in mind all the older technology challenges of the past, where should your CIOs be most focused? Our data insights, supported from the experts, the C-suite, recruiters, and those trying to get their minds around, we identify today’s biggest concerns and how to deal with them.
1. Innovation and digital transformation
Gartner Data Research says that about two-thirds of business leaders think their companies need to speed their journey of digital transformation, or face losing ground to competitors. Companies will continue to go along their same path of operating principles, until they are either forced out of business, or have to make a change to adapt to all the innovation needed to take the business further.
Your IT spend to improve business and competitiveness, must answer the primary question as to how would that spend make your business more competitive. As a CIO, one needs to focus based on value additions, project that add innovation, rather than objectives decided at a board level based on budgets allocated to be spent.
Projects which are more nimble, digital process and transitionary in nature, must be supported and planned vs improving operating efficiencies of legacy system which are less nimble or efficient.
2. Agile Projects
Agility is the new buzz word in town. Organization’s IT team must now be fast in responding to new software updates, server-less computing, and have project plans which adopt Agile methodologies. However, many organizations that aim to adopt or follow agile methods sometimes end up in the middle, by adopting a sort of hybrid model that incorporates agile practices but also more traditional “waterfall” methods. In short, the worst of both worlds.
A more disciplined approach is needed to plan the Agile project model, where the solution to specific problems are addressed within a certain release. Each release has to be coordinated for a set of smaller sprints so that a comprehensive outcome, where key changes are added with every release and not just a set of all the requested features that may or may not support one another.
3. Cloud Migration
Cloud Migration is a huge project and strategic move for any Organization. Managing the Capex vs Opex has been debated for long. IT team in an organization needs to also look at a private cloud and/or multi-cloud solutions as they evaluate what’s best for the business and thereby it would provide more choice and avoids single vendor lock-in. IT also needs to plan which applications internal vs external should go to which cloud. With the rise of IoT, more processing power is needed at the device levels, so IT needs to expand their options for the cloud.
4. Skills and Training
Several organizations struggle with finding qualified tech staff, especially now with a whole lot of innovation and digital transformative technologies which are coming, as disruptions for operating the business. Re-Training the existing employees, would feel equally daunting.
Organizations must have clear plan on their technology framework, platforms which are used to run the business, while making sure employees are trained and skilled. Training on the job and learning how to work with new frameworks is extremely difficult when employees have projects and deliverables too.
Teams should also know which functions might be candidates for outsourcing to a technology solution provider, vs reskilling or hiring internally. Organizations can plan contracting with a technology partner for some routine, ongoing tasks, which can free up internal tech teams to focus on activities that are more advanced and strategic to the business.
5. Security
In the near Future, headlines making exploits could use legitimate credentials as the starting point for a cyber-attack, that can take days, weeks or even months to begin and finally do damage. In most cases these attacks on the inside can begin with a user clicking on the wrong email attachment, a disgruntled employee going rogue, or as the result of weak passwords or sharing of credentials among colleagues.
New behavioural-based detection techniques will be needed in the future to address these threats such as using artificial intelligence, machine learning User and Entity Behavior Analytics systems, to spot small changes in user login and usage patterns and protect network-connected devices that are often indicative of a DOS style attack.
As part of our CIO as a Service offering, we take on the role of managing technology use within your organization, strategically, tactically and operationally. We help you make well considered decisions, assess the true of IT, oversee implementation and importantly keep your costs down while allowing your team to reclaim some of their valuable time. We work with your business stakeholders, your internal staff and your external suppliers.