By Hemanta Banerjee, VP-Public cloud data services, Rackspace Technology
The turn of a new year – analogous to turning over a new leaf. Sometimes it can also mean maintaining the momentum from the previous year. Either way, adapting to operational and business model shifts will be the name of the game, and Chief Information Officers (CIOs) can take the reins to influence outcomes.
Amid a rapidly evolving tech landscape, CIOs can drive home the point that the focus shouldn’t be on the latest shiny toy, but on unlocking business potential through efficiency. A deep sense of curiosity is crucial here. So CIOs must explore how the exigencies of the business landscape today relate to their respective organisations. Below are 10 things for CIOs to ponder for the year ahead.
● How to raise data platform efficiency: Cost savings, enhanced performance, and added security are just some reasons to modernise data platforms. But the matter of how to go about this often leaves decision-makers stumped. For one, most companies don’t know where to start when it comes to sifting through the data they’ve amassed. Common challenges centre on identifying and cleaning high-impact data, and building stakeholder trust in that data. CIOs can take charge by evaluating how current data platforms are set up and then exploring possibilities to modernise, such as through hyper-converged infrastructure, for instance.
● Integrating hybrid cloud solutions into IT infrastructure: According to EY, 80% of Indian organisations adopted the cloud to enable intelligent applications and highly intuitive orchestration platforms, among others. Simply put, embracing the cloud means thinking about it in terms of practicality – the goal of which is to leverage it as an enabler of transformative change. To do that, however, CIOs must ask themselves
if they can develop a hybrid cloud approach that seamlessly combines current on-premises infrastructure with a combination of public and private cloud services. Connecting the two provides versatility for strategic workload deployment, dynamic scalability, and efficient sharing of computing resources.
● Building smart infrastructure via software-driven technologies: Just as a smart home integrates various devices under a centralised system for seamless control, software-defined infrastructure integrates and manages different components of your IT environment for enhanced efficiency and adaptability. CIOs can act as change agents who study how to integrate software-defined networking (SDN) and software- defined storage (SDS) solutions into the wider tech stack. Through this, CIOs can position their organisations to automate infrastructure management and foster greater adaptability to meet changing business demands.
● Bolstering security to boost continuity: Continuity is a key attribute of thriving businesses – especially amid the stunning volatility and frequency of disruption today. Security is essential here. CIOs must explore how they can enhance network security through the implementation of advanced threat detection capabilities,
intrusion prevention systems, and encryption protocols. It is crucial to extend security measures beyond the network perimeter and concentrate on safeguarding internal network traffic. Meanwhile, adhering to zero-trust security principles is critical to protecting organisational assets. CIOs should champion context-based
access controls across devices and environments, as dynamic verification minimises the risk of breaches without hindering employee productivity. Another key aspect of resilience is disaster recovery plans and backups. CIOs must press the importance of compliance and active updating of recovery strategies to ensure quick rebound in the event of a crisis.
● Leveraging the edge: By strategically deploying computation and storage closer to data sources, edge computing effectively reduces latency and enhances the real-time responsiveness of applications. This is immensely beneficial to cloud-driven innovation. CIOs should identify specific scenarios to leverage edge computing while allocating adequate resources to support implementations.
● Energy efficiency and green profitability: Going green is the key imperative of our time. However, the climate crisis need not signal the end of the profit motive. Instead, CIOs can drive these targets by auditing data infrastructure’s energy use. Then, they can actively target upgrades to enhance efficiency. This could look like consolidated workloads, energy-efficient hardware, and renewable sources. The
result is reduced energy costs and better outcomes for the environment.
Anticipating workforce evolution: CIOs will need to develop plans to navigate changes to the workforce. EY finds that 75% of Indian organisations hit bumps in the road because technology is outpacing manpower readiness. CIOs can buck trends by thinking about ways to upskill workers in line with developing business needs. This includes providing holistic AI training to optimise emerging technologies and drive greater business value. Looking for means to harness symbiosis between roles will also be key, especially as organisations strive to find the sweet spot for maximising flexi-work and the impact of AI.
Although advancements in AI may dominate the conversation, the CIO mandate for the year ahead is still going to anchor around directing technologies to deliver productivity and revenue. Making the right moves on cloud systems, data, and IT operations will remain fundamental, and hopefully, more CIOs than not will dive right into the task of making new tech deployments work to deliver business value.