Leveraging Innovations in Technology: Key for Success
Bill Kloster, CIO, SEH
CIOs play a pivotal role in the shaping of corporate strategies through the creation of tactical solutions that enable business growth and ensure success of the company brand by leveraging technology. The ability to leverage technology isn’t just about being more cost effective or having more efficient processes anymore. It is increasingly more important to leverage technology to stay connected with clients, present proposals and create solutions.
Technological Trends
Cybersecurity because of the ever-increasing amount and sophistication of cyber threats and Smart Cities because of the impact they will have on our future. Cybercrime is front-page news on a daily basis. The amount of time and attention spent protecting our environments and our information continues to increase. Smart Cities with connected sensor that monitor and control everything from energy usages to traffic patterns are real examples of disruptive technology in the Architecture, Construction and Engineering industry.
Overcoming Challenges
Configuration Management solutions bring consistency and management of our IT environments. It allows us to apply changes in less time and with a higher probability of success. The result is more reliable and secure compute environment that requires less resource time to maintain. This allows our IT resource to focus on more innovative activities with a more direct impact on growing our business.
Transformation in CMS
CMS are becoming more multi-platform and easier to implement. As the technology matured, the supported moved beyond Windows updates. As more companies started to use CMS the playbook on installation and configuration is easy to understand and implement quickly. The ability to leverage a single CMS platform across all IT assets and streamline operational maintenance is now possible.
Moving Away from Traditional
IT Resources
Moving IT from a traditional to a services model is more about a natural evolution than a major mindset shift. As a company grows in size and locations it becomes apparent that the traditional IT resource model must change. As solutions are evaluated it becomes apparent that the operating expense of services provides a benefit over the traditional capital expense approach. As you evaluate the talent and the interests of your staff, it becomes apparent that moving some of the commodity type work to service providers actually creates opportunity for your employees. Finding the right resource model that allows for retention of core skills that leverage service providers is the key to success.
Tips for Budding CIOs
Spend time learning the business side of your company and the business side of your IT department. Business acumen is a critical advantage for a CIO. It is important to understand how your company generates revenue and how your company makes decisions on IT spending. Spend time reading existing vendor contracts to understand both the service offering and the expense. Spend time talking with business partners about how they use technology on a daily basis to understand the level of satisfaction with the current solutions. Surround yourself with motivated, talented individuals that are willing to provide a contrarian viewpoint. Be humble in success and be strong in difficult situations.
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