Here we are in mid-January. The holidays are becoming a fond, distant memory. The excitement around 2016 predictions is dwindling. And CIOs are likely looking at a mountain of to-dos for the year ahead. In this week's edition of news for IT pros, we share some articles that may help CIOs as they map out their strategic plans for 2016.
There has been a strong call to CIOs to spend more time on innovation and less on operations in 2016. A new survey from IDC backs this up, finding, “more than 40 percent of the line-of-business executives surveyed said they view the CIO as an innovation officer responsible for leading their company's digital transformation.” Katherine Noyes, who covered this report in ComputerWorld this week, said, “CIOs who cling to an operational role could find themselves marginalized in the coming years, whereas those who focus on innovation could attain new heights.”
In a time when innovation comes in a variety of flavors, how can CIOs figure out where to focus their attention? The key is to be transparent and engaged with your community, says Margaret Dawson in an article for Opensource.com. Building off of expert opinions, including those of Enterpriser Curt Carver, Dawson provides six principles for successful digital-era CIOs.
Once CIOs decide how they are going to be innovative in 2016, they need to communicate the benefits to the business. Ben Rossi offers some considerations for CIOs who want to show the value of IT innovation throughout the organization. He says, “By taking a considered, thoughtful approach to the product and how it can make a difference, CIOs can become business superstars in no time.”
Finally, focusing on new technologies may bring to light skill gaps in IT. Check out the Hiring Forecast for the first half of 2016 to find out where you may be competing for top IT talent. Desktop support, database management, and network administration are the top three technical skills in demand, according to the survey.
