CIO Blogs
Must-read commentary from expert contributors
System integrator risk mitigation processes often have the opposite effect
Relying on your SI to tell you how to mitigate risks is a flawed strategy that often does not have a happy ending.
Bringing new sources of energy to life at National Grid
National Grid’s digital strategy is all about developing frictionless processes to bring energy to customers safely, faster, and easier, explains Adriana Karaboutis, chief information and digital officer.
Companies are gaining clarity about their digital vision
More executive committees say they understand how digital impacts their business strategy.
Running with data: Under Armour creates immersive, digital customer experience
Under Armour combines its physical and digital products to help its customers achieve their fitness goals.
Fear of premature escalation (FPE): Diagnose and treat this silent ERP program killer
Recognizing the early warning signs and taking appropriate action can reduce the overall impact of this affliction, which can be deadly for an ERP project.
CIOs who foster a culture of equality empower innovation
When you have a culture of equality, employees feel valued and are more willing and able to innovate. Achieving that in IT comes from the CIO setting the right tone.
Tech days of reckoning
Even for technology veterans, keeping pace with advancements is like chasing a moving train that will always be just a bit faster. Try as you may, you can never quite catch up and, if you stop trying, you will never catch up.
Campbell’s CIO: For digital transformation to succeed, connect IT to business strategy
At Campbell Soup Company, business relevance is the foundation of all digital transformation initiatives. It’s about leveraging IT to achieve business goals, says CIO Francisco Fraga.
How CIOs become visionary communicators
The best CIOs give their communications leaders a seat at the table, partnering with them to improve their own communications and the IT team’s communications.
Don’t become a digital transformation horror story: Implement solid risk management
The only way to eliminate risk entirely is to do nothing at all, which of course brings its own risks to the business.
How CIOs communicate success — and elevate their game
Communication – whether internal or external – is a key part of the CIO’s job. A strategic partner in this effort is the IT communications lead.
How to reconstruct your business’s value chain for the digital world
Digital technologies change everything. The key is understanding and creating a new value chain, not adding technology just because it is new, says pharmaceuticals CIO Guy Hadari.
Profiting from free and underused data
Data that firms can use to increase revenues and reduce costs may be more abundant than many realize. Neglected internal data assets as well as freely available information from the web and public sector could be just what your company needs to streamline your operations and beat the competition.
Building a digital learning culture at Avery Dennison
Your digital strategy is only as strong as your least digital employee. That is why Avery Dennison built digital literacy into its multi-pronged digital transformation strategy.
CIOs create a STEM Advantage, develop program to cultivate IT talent
A group of CIOs couldn’t find the IT talent they needed, so they created a program to encourage and prepare women and underserved communities to pursue STEM careers through paid internships.
Moving IT closer to the action at Ryder System
By shifting more IT activity into the business units, Ryder System CIO Rajeev Ravindran ensures a collaborative approach to technology innovation at the $8.4B transportation and supply chain management company.
Sole sourcing negotiations: SI tactics and CIO countermeasures
How CIO’s can ensure they maintain control of their sole source negotiations.
#MeToo in tech: how to go from window dressing to action
The #MeToo movement ushered in a wave of gender parity awareness in nearly every industry, yet many women are still feeling underrepresented in tech. Can we do more to make IT more welcoming to women?
Developing a business-driven, customer-obsessed IT strategy
For Oshkosh Corporation CIO Anupam Khare, the goal is for IT to enable the business strategy and add significant business value – all the while ensuring customers’ needs inside and out of the company are met.
5 reasons why your business model may need an API
APIs offer businesses more than just an efficient way to get data to end users. They can also be used to generate new revenue streams and extend your market reach.
The 'Five Ps' of business (and personal) transformation
On her journey to becoming CIO, Daphne Jones discovered it takes purpose, priority, preparation, performance, and perseverance for business, as well as personal, transformation to occur.
Waning or waxing? What’s happening to CIO influence?
Those who want to see their influence grow rather than shrink need to look for opportunities and partners rather than losses and interlopers.
Introducing the “lazy economy” business model and implications for CIOs
As you explore the art of the possible around the lazy economy, here are three implications and recommendations for senior IT leaders.How to amplify the value of your system integrator
A few ways to increase the value of your SI. If only these engagements came with a user manual…
How CIOs can become corporate board directors
Debra McCormack, managing director for the Center for Board Effectiveness at Deloitte, explains what it takes for CIOs to become corporate board directors.
Digital transformation is more than a slogan
Digital transformation requires vision, leadership, process change, and technology. Equally important, though, is to change the company’s culture, says Arthur Hu, CIO of Lenovo.
5 dirty little secrets of your system integrator
Ever wonder why companies still go over budget? Here are a few of the ways consultants pass that risk onto their customers.
Why the Internet of Things needs dynamic data exchanges
The IoT promises an exciting future for the creation and exchange of data that could transform business processes and drive the next wave of innovation. However, much work needs to be done in building the data exchanges that will provide the liquidity for this new market.
Exploring the ‘unknown unknowns’ in IT-enabled digital transformation estimates
Recognizing and acknowledging your own blind-spots can be tough to swallow, but wouldn’t you rather understand your blind-spots before you start your journey rather than when you reach the precipice of a failure?
A CIO’s experience as a start-up founder
Michael Gabriel, former CIO of HBO, offers lessons learned from his entrepreneurial adventure.
Why fixed prices won’t fix IT budget overruns
Effectively managing to an IT project budget is a shared responsibility between the vendor and the client. Expect change, but don’t let it derail your budget and project goals.
How Caesars Entertainment became a ‘digital first’ business
For Caesars Entertainment's CIO, Les Ottolenghi, the keys to the transformation at the global gaming giant were vision, communication, and a common cloud platform.
Make your company’s data work harder for you
Rethinking how your company’s activities generate data and focusing on its application to business processes might release hidden sources of value. Enterprises across a range of sectors are forging ahead of their competitors through creative data exploitation.Why you don’t need a Chief [insert new tech name here] Officer
The next time you read a call to action about the need for a new CXO role, you can apply these three steps to take a more disciplined approach to getting to grips with the technology or trend and seizing the opportunity.
Successfully reinventing your company starts with a digital transformation model
While most companies claim to have a game plan for digital transformation, many of these roadmaps deliver minor improvements in efficiencies but fall short when it comes to supercharging business operations. True transformation starts by scrapping old approaches and shifting from a product and service to a platform and network mentality.
When is it time to say goodbye to Accenture, Deloitte, IBM or KPMG?
You have probably invested a great deal of time and effort selecting your SI and more than likely written them a few sizable checks. So how do you end the relationship once it's clearly become one-sided?
4 criteria to attract top IT talent
As the battle to hire top IT talent heats up, these criteria – location, compensation, role, and recruiting process – will help you assess your ability to attract technology leaders.
Building a virtuous circle of data-driven innovation
Embedding data into product and service development cycles can lead to a virtuous circle of innovation and competitive advantage.
Digging deeper into AI: Why scratching the surface isn’t enough
Leaders are betting on artificial intelligence to grow their business. To succeed, though, they must recognize that AI is a way of being, not just another thing to do.
Five steps of IT leadership
Professor and CIO Will Conaway shares his five steps for IT leaders to succeed at their jobs.
Taking a counterintuitive approach to business strategy and technology deployment
As CIOs embrace disruptive technologies, a counterintuitive approach to strategy and execution is key.
Digital is the business strategy at Principal Financial Group
Gary Scholten, CIO and CDO of $14 billion financial services firm Principal Financial Group, offers sage advice to ensure a strategic approach to digital technologies.
5 reasons why data-driven innovations fail
Make sure you understand some of the key mistakes that companies make when deploying data-driven products into the market.
For Ingram Micro, digital transformation is about improving the customer experience
By understanding their customers’ behavior, Ingram Micro can use digital technologies to create a seamless experience, explains Tom Peck, CIO and CDO.
How to negotiate the right deal with Microsoft
Tips for companies undergoing digital transformation looking to adopt or renew one of Microsoft’s key offerings.
SAP and Oracle audits – US constitutional principles do not apply
While businesses are not required to have separate committees to draft, enforce and adjudicate company policy, we expect some form of these principles to apply, even in the private sector.
Securing competitive advantage through data exploitation
How companies are using data to beat the competition and secure their market position.
IT and engineering under one leader drives an exceptional customer experience
Sheri Rhodes, CIO and CTO of Western Union, discusses how innovation and talent development help the global money-transfer company provide outstanding customer experience.
IT outsourcing agreements: 3 details many negotiations forget
Whether you are establishing an outsourcing relationship for the first time, preparing for a sourcing event, or getting ready for a painful renewal discussion with your incumbent service provider, there is no circumstance where an outsourcing agreement should be executed without each one of these items first being addressed.