Gartner in its latest research says that 80% of CEO that were surveyed will increase investing on crucial digital technology to counter economic downtrends and stay ahead of the financial impact due to low demands and inflation, lack of skilled labour and supply chain disruptions.
The survey found digital strategy and benefits are yet to repeated by organizations. The IT decision makers are tasked for digital strategy implementation and benefits in many cases are awaited.
Expectations of senior leadership is much more then what has been done till date and in 2023 they expect more from CIO’s and IT leadership to get benefits and dividends from strategies that has been laid out.
Gartner laid down few actionable strategies for CIO’s and these will help to measure growth, forecast and give actionable insight.
Having required funds to implement digital strategies and bring in new technology in the process is not the only requirement. There are challenges CIO’s need to overcome to fullfill vision they have set for digital implementations and profits reaped thereafter.
One is having a shared vision strategy across all platform and parts of the enterprise. Disparity in views can delay implementation and having clarity is essential for CIO’s.
Second is integrating enterprise existing vision with new digital vision so that outcome is desirable and acceptable to all from board members to IT decision makers.
Third is to understand the expectation’s and vision from different stakeholders and delivering them. This include customers or end users, upper management, sales team and IT departments.
Technology investments to grow in 2023 in comparison to 2022
Transformation a Part of Digital strategy
Change management is a part of every organization’s policy and when it comes to implementation of certain rules, regulations or strategy there are resistance. As many organizations have people working in different projects, technology and process and sometimes they tend to be working on legacy technology or outdate platforms and resistances to any kind of transformation.
Transformation will bring in resistance but this also will lay the vision for future road map. And the best way this can be done Is by involving people and process, bring them to share their perspective and ideas.
Scaling down in work process is by far the most important and that brings in smart and innovative ways of working.
This involves breaking the process in pieces, simplifying them, helping with data insights and ringing and developing new talents. This further involves better decision making and improved performances.
Gartner suggest actionable insights to get goal oriented results
- Road Map: Interview your peers to understand their priorities and map digital technology investments and strategies to their business goals.
Take their views and include them if feasible in the policy roadmap.
- Enterprise strategy: For each technology investment, clearly indicate how it will align with specific goals and objectives in the enterprise strategy.
- Alignment of Board & stakeholders: Get executive approval to act on a shared vision by building a “roadshow” deck to align with your CEO, board and other stakeholders.
The above pointers will set the standard for smarter resolution, CIO’s need to deliver and achieve goals.
Also going through 2022 resolutions and commitments that were chartered out in the beginning, scrutiny on what worked and what didn’t for CIO’s in the path towards digital transformation. What is required more and what changes can bring in more adoptability among colleagues, teams, stakeholders and board members.
Developing future action plan will help in to go long way. Mordern day CIO’s are working closely with the CEO’s and other marketing heads to spear head digital strategy.
Actionable insight and taking steps on the vision’ set require the CIOs need to evolve their decision making more dynamic and adaptable
Further this must align with the C-suite on digital and organizational strategy. In the long run this will facilitate change across the enterprise with emerging and proven technologies to innovate and drive agility.
To sync in every digital strategy within the organization, CIO’s will require that every department head also contribute and understand how data can be used for greater digital transformation.
Earlier CIO’s activity were thought to be concerned to cloud, networks, data centres, and device management now with digital transformation this has extended for driving companies forward in the Industry 4.0 era.
To stay competitive cio’s will have to turn their vision for digital intitative for future into actionable insights, by with acquiring new skill set and having greater understanding of evolving technology which is being adopted by organizations to stay ahead .
At the end an evolved CIO can set the road map for CEO and other heads of organization along with teams on how to best achieve strategic initiatives which is implementing evolved digital transformation.
A CIO leading the way in collaboration to achieve DT (Digital transformation) strategies, understanding that digital transformation is always a team effort.
(Image courtesy: www.itpro.co.uk)