On January 30, I attended the 2012 CIO Summit of America sponsored by HMG Strategy and the NY Metro chapter of SIM. The focus of the day was on the transformational CIO.
In summary (and there was far too much good information to simply summarize it, but I will try anyhow), several themes resonated throughout the day.
First, it is the role of the CIO to cause transformation of the enterprise through innovation and leadership. Technology is an integral part of business. Technology leaders who are to be successful must move beyond being requirement takers to being innovators at the business level. This requires as a basis excellence in execution – all of the skills that have always been expected of IT teams. While that is necessary, it is no longer sufficient – innovation and leadership at the business level are requirements for future (and indeed current) success!
Second, the cloud is a key component of a CIO’s toolkit. Leveraging both private and public cloud technology can aid the enterprise in excellence, focus and responsiveness. Numerous vendors – both established and new – are providing the tools to foster cloud innovation and implementation.
Third, social media are transforming the way business is conducted – both within the enterprise and in the external space. No longer just an add-on, innovators are building upon the capabilities of social media to foster communication and flatten organizations. Those who have followed my commentary in the past will recognize that the emerging themes for CIO success are what I have been focusing on for some time. CIOs need to lead and engage the business, in addition to performing the traditional functions of application and infrastructure support with excellence. The broadened recognition of this reality will help set expectations, and motivate contributions to business success. Social media and the cloud are important tools in the CIO’s tool kit. They allow new capabilities to be deployed as never before. These tools, combined with the rich set of other tools in the wise CIO’s tool kit, enable success in new and exciting ways.
This posting represents my first of my newly inaugurated blog. Your comments, reactions and contributions are welcome, and I hope this becomes a useful forum for sharing and exchanging ideas.
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