Stepping into the role of CIO can be exhilarating. The responsibility for driving an enterprise IT effort forward can be reward in itself. It's like you have the ability to wield the digital equivalent of a light saber as a competitive weapon. But it isn't always possible to know the landscape prior to moving into such an influential position. Having a crystal ball that could envision the state of IT in 10 or even 15 years would be helpful, but unrealistic. But as Ari Bose, Chief Information Officer at Brocade explains, being a leader who can be focused on business transformation more than technology is even more important than knowing the future... and certainly more realistic.
Bose explains, "The two things I wish I had known before becoming a CIO would be:
"To have been able to identify earlier, the massive IT transformation that has taken place, including: Cloud, Mobility, Big Data, and Next Generation Networking. Ten years ago who would have guessed that mobile devices would be as prevalent as they are today, and the impact that they would have on day-to-day business; or that data centers as we knew them would be a thing of the past with the move to the cloud; or to be able to deploy large SAS solutions in weeks and months.
"How to make the evolutionary transition from a technology leader to a business leader. As a business leader I have been able to successfully transform businesses and focus on really making a significant impact on a company, its employees and how they define success. Today's CIO's have to be foremost a process and business transformation leader first, then a technologist."
What are two things you wished you knew before becoming a CIO?
Interested in hearing more from Scott Koegler, read his article about turning the lights on shadow IT.
Scott Koegler practiced IT as a CIO for 15 years. He also has more than 20 years experience as a technology journalist covering topics ranging from software and services through business strategy. He has written white papers and directed and published video interviews.
Scott publishes ec-bp.com, a supply chain industry newsletter and has written for publications including Network Computing, Forbes, Internet Evolution, and many others. He also manages and edits SuccessfulBusinessNews.com - a newsletter for small businesses, and NPTechNews.com - a newsletter addressing technology topics geared to nonprofit
