Insights from the best F500 CIO/CDOs

It's the technology leaders that are catalyzing some of the largest transformations in the industry

In the digital age, boards see technology as a business enabler and a game changer, rather than a piece of infrastructure. As the role of technology changes within an organization, so do the responsibilities of technology leaders. As a result, technology leaders are moving “from the server room to the boardroom”.

What’s clear is that as technology leaders shift from running operations to co-creating new business models, they require greater collaboration with their business counterparts. With this in mind, they are shifting from a “flight engineer to a pilot/co-pilot” role and they are leading their corporations to think less about technology-as-a-service and more about technology-as-a-strategy.

At the same time, we have seen a proliferation of roles – CIO, CDO, CTO, Data and Analytics officers – that is increasingly recognized as needing to converge as organization models mature.?In addition, as expectations from technology have evolved, the scope of these roles are becoming unmanageable – and a blending of Business and IT is seen as the key to managing this.?Indeed, some of the best tech leaders are also the beacons of digital upskilling for the rest of the business, including the boardroom.

The key to data driven businesses is in looking at data as a ‘first-class citizen’

Every company wants to be a data-driven business. But what does this look like, and what does it take to get there?

An interesting framework is to about two halves of the whole - front office and back-office of data – getting each right on their own and then getting the right linkages in place. The back-office is focused on data infrastructure, data governance, and insights-sharing. Its more of the defensive work and needs to run seamlessly at scale. The front office is more on the offensive – and focusses on delivering new business models, higher customer value, and more sticky consumer experiences - through innovating with data. Both are key, but getting each right and linking them seamlessly is key to digital transformations becoming be truly successful.

Despite traditional approaches, data and technology must be seen as two entirely separate asset classes, not the same thing. And data requires considerably larger governance and ownership – with accountability flowing back to the business. What been interesting to discover is how much of a journey, not a destination data really is - even for truly data-driven companies, the day-to-day management and governance over data quality is constantly evolving, adjusting and changing.

Choice and cost are important considerations, particularly as the volume and diversity of data grow exponentially – and rethinking where to keep data – at the center or at the edge. At large corporations there is considerable “wasted reporting” to get under control, the key is the focus on quality over quantity, forward thinking technology leaders are eliminating the explosion in reports, reducing to a core set that can be “certified true” and driving top down leadership to use the same common data in management meetings.

Disrupting and innovating, not just keeping up, with technology

Technology gives companies the power to disrupt and the tools to innovate – more than just keeping the lights on. Emerging technologies including NFTs, the Metaverse, AR/VR, and AI are pushing the boundaries of innovation – and yet starting with the question first and not the answer is key. Also, true innovation doesn’t come from experimentation but from industrialization at scale, and that means laying in the foundation across processes and people and change management. As a result, the best technology leaders are actually business leaders with technology in their DNA.

When it comes to disrupting with technology at scale, there is also the need to think through what level of control to maintain centrally and what level of innovation to allow at the edge – allowing for instance new models to germinate closest to where the demand lies. In addition, the challenge of integrating new technologies with existing legacy continues to be a large consideration, especially with regard to interoperability and industry standards.

When you speak with scale innovators what’s becoming acutely clear is the distinction between a culture of innovation versus a culture of invention. Innovation is about bringing the best external ecosystem capabilities together, riding on the shoulders of others, and then focusing on the differentiated added value, instead of re-inventing all the component pieces – something that can feel good in the short term but over the long run is non-scalable and significantly dilutes returns on invested capital.

Creating a sustainable framework for technology governance

Technology is now intrinsically linked with environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations. And instead of being reactive and responsive to the boardroom, technology leaders are now starting to drive the environmental agenda at their companies, notably in measuring and managing ESG with data.? ?The social agenda is also top of mind for technology leaders, with many supporting programs aimed at upskilling and training under-represented and under-supported demographics. ?

And cybersecurity is always top concern for every tech leader when it comes to governance. Many leaders are adopting an “isolate first, investigate later” approach – a change from “find the problem and fix it” method – which is seen to be very much essential at the current time, but has associated concerns around long term business viability. And the everyday focus is on industrialized blocking and tackling – emergency patching, zero trust networks, and architectural segmentation, but more broadly, preparation, reporting, and remediation are key considerations.

Leaders lead together

As I write this I know that we are in a time like no other.?And there isn’t a rule book or an operating manual that’s in place for the digital journey ahead.?The collective wisdom that comes from sharing and learning across industries is key, and contrary to traditional opinion, leaders lead together, always.