UCISA is a Business Reporter client.
Traditionally, IT has been viewed as a technology delivery service: business strategy and operating models have been developed and approved, and then passed to IT to deliver the technological elements. In some cases, decisions about how and where to invest technology budgets have already been made before IT intervenes.
Not long ago, renowned universities, institutions and companies invested most of their capital in physical assets. Today, many of these organizations have replaced “bricks” with “clicks”, rapidly accelerating towards the online world, a world that requires greater agility, scalability and continuous improvement at a constant pace.
Organizations are now often much more geographically dispersed, requiring a greater sense of connectivity between teams, customers and stakeholders. IT has arguably become the framework that underpins and holds together any modern organization and should therefore be seen as a fundamental part of enterprise architecture. In turn, the CIO must adopt a much more integrated role as a leader, influencer and partner to his or her fellow C-suite executives.
However, this is not always easy and the perception of IT can often be outdated, with a lack of recognition or understanding of the value and importance of technology strategy and architecture. As a result, CIOs and IT directors may struggle to be heard or be left out of the conversation until it is too late, resulting in missed opportunities, ineffective or inefficient solutions, and spiraling costs.
Many organizations have significant amounts of technical debt, often accumulated over many years of sustained underinvestment, not only in technology but also in people, governance, standards and controls. Without the CIO's input and influence on business strategy and planning, the risk of this debt increasing further increases. Nowadays we see too many news stories about failures or long delays in major system transformations. Too often the underlying cause is unsustainable and unmanageable levels of customization and bespoke development that have been designed into the system, often driven by a lack of awareness or understanding of good digital architecture by senior management. By taking a digital approach with your CIO as a partner, everyone can avoid this by finding the optimal balance between standardization and customization, thereby investing time, effort and budget where and when it adds the most value.
Low levels of digital capability in leadership teams may also play a role, but it is no longer acceptable for senior colleagues to say things like “I don't (or can't) do technology.” It's like a CIO saying, “I'm not in finance” or “I'm not in risk.” It's also often not true and sends an unhelpful message to other members of the organization that digital is (a) optional, (b) not important, and (c) too difficult. This is particularly relevant given the ever-evolving cyber risk landscape, to which organizations can only respond effectively if cyber (and digital in general) is considered a team effort, the responsibility of everyone, not just the management team. YOU.
To enable a shift in perception and recognition of digital leadership, the role of the IT team will also need to change. We will see more IT jobs with an emphasis on business, such as business analysts, business architects, and digital product managers. With fewer digital solutions designed and developed in-house by internal IT teams and an increasing reliance on cloud technologies, we will need to focus more on building and maintaining relationships with suppliers and partners, effectively driving value and improvement through partnerships. strategic. instead of managing the kit. The dramatic increase in opportunities, adoption and impact of Artificial Intelligence requires an equally dramatic shift in the mindset of our people. Continuous improvement of digital products and platforms, rather than projects focused on IT systems and software, will require more skills in disciplines such as agile and devops. We are also likely to see an increasing number of CIOs emerge from non-technical careers. Servant leadership, creative thinking, relationship management, and some of the more human-centered, non-technological skills are now more important than ever.
Collaboration and transparency are also keys to success, both within organizations and across the sector. In education, UCISA plays a critical role in supporting CIOs and their teams to respond to these challenges, through its various communities of practice, its program of conferences, events and webinars. Many of our members, including our CIO community, cite their participation and commitment to the UCISA community as an important facilitator for change, development and growth, both from a personal and professional perspective and at all levels of their institutions.
The organizations that do it well, those that enhance the role of the CIO to be a strategic partner for the rest of the organization, are the ones that will benefit the most. Whether through increased revenue, competitive differentiation, increased market share, or pursuit and adoption of new business models, the CIO is your critical enabler of digital change and the key to business success.
For more information please visit www.ucisa.ac.uk .
