CIO Blogs
Must-read commentary from expert contributors
Customer loyalty is up for grabs; retention is now mission-critical
By focusing on the customer POV, CIOs can make digital transformation more visible and measurable within a business context.
How COVID contingency best practices can help save the planet
The shift to a hybrid workforce has had a positive impact not just on productivity and work/life balance, but on the environment and global climate change. Let's keep it that way.
Why steering committees fail to engage (and 5 ways to hold them accountable)
There are some common reasons why a transformation steering committee may fail to engage—from a lack of motivation to a bias toward inaction, Here's how transformation leaders can overcome those blockers.
How Nextdoor’s engineering team jumped into action to help small businesses during COVID-19
How Nextdoor and engineering head Mai Ling developed new services in record time by shifting project roadmaps, brainstorming new ideas, and making tough decisions about what to stop doing.
How Brunswick IT enables digital business
CIO Mike Adams shares how the company has designed its digital and data platforms to put the customer at the center of its products, services, and digital ecosystem, underpinned by enterprise architecture.
Rethinking data management for faster time to value
Enterprises should abandon traditional ETL approaches and strategies and adopt future state architectures that distribute the data transformation burden.16 traits of a world class chief innovation officer
Your innovation program, and the role of the CINO, is too important to leave to chance. Make sure whoever holds the top innovation job has these essential qualities.
IT execs join forces, pledging to promote diversity in technology
CIOs committed to creating more career opportunities in IT for underrepresented communities are asking 5,000 of their peers to join an organized effort to drive meaningful change.
The ‘why’ of digital transformation is the key to unlocking value
Too many leadership teams focus on the ‘how’ or ‘what’ of their digitalization projects – which makes the destination less clear and can lead to negative ROI.
Knowing where the line is in IT risk management
Not all risk is a raging fire. Technology projects should be weighed against your organization’s broader risk appetite.
Get good at delivering software
Survival in the digital age requires an emphasis on execution and speed, enabled by a DevOps approach across the business
10 steps to avoid digital transformation failure
Executive sponsors play a key role in the success (or failure) of digital transformations. Taking these essential actions will tip the scales in your favor.
For new board members, onboarding is a crash course in company culture
The process of orienting new corporate directors can involve everything from hours of executive meetings and tours of company facilities to special tutoring sessions on corporate governance. The pandemic altered the pace of onboarding with some surprising results.
Money for nothing: Making sense of data collaborations in healthcare
The monetization of healthcare data has been a long-pursued goal for tech firms and healthcare enterprises. Newly formed data collaboratives are taking a fresh approach.
How Skyworks embraced self-service IT
CIO Satya Jayadev and his team are democratizing technology and creating a self-service model to empower business users.
When emotions run high: Protecting your network infrastructure from reputational attacks
In today’s environment, where one angry tweet can go viral, CISOs play a critical role in protecting the brand.
Inside Blue Shield of California's IT operating model overhaul
For CIO Lisa Davis, the transformation to a product-focused operating model is key to realizing the health plan provider's digital health vision.
The big debate: control compliance vs. risk management
Industry-standard security frameworks are important, but they also need to align with the rest of your organization's risk management practices.
4 tips for selling a transformation project to your CEO
A successful transformation initiative can establish your position as a business leader, not just a technology guru – but first you have to sell it to your boss.
What will ensure the continued ascent of telehealth technology?
Telehealth is at a crossroads. Here are three things health systems must consider before investing further in telehealth technology.
5 starting points for agile transformation
Legacy systems and complexity can make agility difficult, but not impossible. Here are five steps any company can take to achieve agility.
Why the ‘experience of things’ lies at the heart of digital transformation
Employee, customer, and ecosystem form the core experience pillars required for transforming your business.
Risk, the misunderstood discipline
Knowing the difference between risk appetite, tolerance, and threshold enables better decision making about technology investments to drive the business forward.
How technology creates an ecosystem of learning at Walden University
Walden CIO Karthik Venkatesh discusses how the university is leveraging SaaS, RPA, AI, and more to maximize student success.
The new data challenge: Raising your company's ESG IQ
Environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues are now a top board concern, with employees and investors alike expecting companies to take an active role in improving society. CIOs have an opportunity to flex their data management expertise, serving as a trusted advisor on the quality and value of ESG data.
How one CIO (and hockey coach) turns players into leaders
Veteran CIO Tyler Best provides his team with accountability, board exposure, and continual feedback to turn them into tomorrow’s IT leaders.
How engineering transformed a legacy business–and redefined ‘done’
Agero turned its contact center-based business into a digital-first, consumer-centric company – and unlocked engineering talent along the way. An interview with Chief Digital Officer Bernie Gracy.
5 critical steps to relaunch a transformation initiative
Across all markets, transformation programs that have been on hold for close to a year are being launched or relaunched. Here's how to make sure your transformation stays on the right track and lower your systems integrator spend by 15-20%.
At CES, a new era of hardware addresses the work-from-home shift
At CES 2021, Dell, HP, and Lenovo, the three largest PC vendors, all unveiled a spate of new business laptops with security enhancements like hardened protection and built-in smarts to guard against ransomware, crypto-mining, and other rising threats.
3 questions guiding your SAP transformation to S/4HANA
If S/4HANA is key to simplification for many organizations, the path to getting there is anything but simple. So let’s make it simple. Here are the three questions that every enterprise needs to ask, and three boxes to check off their list in order to pull off a successful and seamless S/4HANA migration.
From risk mitigation to business enabler: The role of CISOs in 2021
CISOs faced a number of challenges in 2020, not the least of which was COVID-19 and the mass migration from onsite to remote work. Corporate leadership saw just how vital the security team is to ensuring the company runs, and runs smoothly. In 2021, CISOs and their security teams can expect to continue to show how vital their role is as they tackle the combined challenges of supply chain hacks, ransomware, WFH, the rollout of 5G, and more.
AI and automation are linchpins for post-pandemic business success
In both the short term and the long term, and across back- and front-office applications, AI has the potential to add value to business workflows, augment employee capabilities, and harness the power of man and machine to improve customer experience.
4 themes for healthcare CIOs in 2021
2020 was a nightmare of a year for healthcare providers. The new year provides an opportunity to get back on track.
4 attributes of future-ready IT leaders
In these turbulent times, one thing is certain, say top CIOs: What got you here won't get you there.
How Cargill IT is helping to solve the world's food problems
CIO Justin Kershaw describes what he looks for in his senior leaders and how the $114 billion agriculture company uses data from low-Earth orbit satellites and distributed ledger technology to bring transparency to the food supply chain.
Beyond the hype: Preparing for 5G (if you need it at all)
Business leaders have been told that 5G will completely transform their business, but with all the hype, there is still a wide gap between expectation and actual experience. While the upside of 5G is great, the downside is in its misunderstanding and misalignment with business objectives. This blog post explores the gap between expectation and experience and how best to assess your organization’s needs for 5G before you blow your budget without realistic expectations for success.
Why ERP projects fail: Finding the gaps in your program plans
Skipping steps in the implementation process can cost your company dearly. Here's what to look for—and look out for.
Healthcare digital transformation: 5 predictions for 2021
Consumerism, telehealth, and the learnings from the pandemic will drive priorities in 2021.
Precision transformation starts with a wide-angle lens
These 5 steps can help you capture big-picture transformation needs and execute on the things that really matter.
Balancing innovation and optimization
How online trading platform Robinhood dealt with hyper-growth, Kubernetes, and getting the goals right
Driving Emerson’s evolution from electronics to smart devices
To ensure that Emerson makes products customers care about, CIO Jake Fritz leads through empowerment, engagement, and collaboration.
Measuring IT project success post-COVID—and 4 leadership lessons learned
Despite challenges, the pandemic has unearthed opportunities from both a technology and strategic standpoint and has introduced new ways to measure the business value of digitization projects.
Strike a balance: Ensuring secure remote work without hindering productivity
The expanded remote workforce requires a balanced, secure approach to accessing data, apps, and systems.
Want to boost customer loyalty in this era of uncertainty? Start with your service teams
The right technology investments are more critical than ever in helping agents deliver exceptional customer service.
Is AI really the answer?
When considering where AI can make an immediate impact on IT operations, one application stands head and shoulders above others: hyperscale automation with intelligence.
Healthcare CIOs must act boldly with technology partnerships
The health system’s response to the pandemic offers a clue to the bold idea that technology can enable healthcare delivery organizations to provide safe and cost-effective care.
5 ways to take control of data in 2021
COVID-19 is transforming the way the economy works, guaranteeing that our data needs will also change and grow. Here's what that means for CIOs in the year ahead.
How Comcast IT moved from order-taker to innovator
Rick Rioboli, EVP & CIO of Comcast, discusses the importance of moving toward a target architecture, his strategy for clean data, and how he assesses candidates for his IT leadership team.
Tapping into dark data for efficiency, innovation, and income
Looking in the recesses of your data silos can pay dividends for CIOs seeking to improve business processes and drive innovation.