The traditional role of the CIO as the Lord and Master of the IT architecture is moving to where the real business action is, says MG Raghuraman
The changing role of the CIO is one of the most discussed topics in the CIO forums. More than the changing facets of IT’s role in business, it is pertinent to note that business paradigms have been shifting in the recent years. Entrepreneurs weave the IT solutions into the business fabric right from the very start. IT innovation has actually contributed to emergence of radically new businesses and far from being a business enabler, IT has virtually got integrated into business today. There is no new business which is not built on some aspect of IT or the other.
Naturally, the traditional role of the CIO from being the Lord and Master of the IT architecture has changed as well. The CIO slowly and steadily has been moving center stage where the real business of action is. Company branding, business strategies, employee engagement, customer service, new business solutioning and in every facet of the evolving company, IT plays a key role. This phenomenon outlines the ever-growing importance of a CIO and we see them becoming key participants in nearly every business decision.
Today’s CIOs face a unique set of trials and tribulations that are in many respects, on par with those of their fellow C-level executives. The present crop of CIOs not only run the business of IT but also simultaneously manage the technology backbone of the business on an everyday basis, while keeping a firm gaze on the future planned on growth, while constantly adjusting to warp speed changes in technology. They are no longer mere CIOs but in actual terms, they are now Change Management Leaders, in command of driving the direction and implementation of IT throughout their organization.
Most companies have an inherent challenge in dealing with legacy IT infrastructure. Certain trends have been set by the hungry-for-change IT consumers, who are constantly upgrading themselves with the latest mobile applications supported by newer and more powerful devices.
Herein lies the danger for the CIO. Enterprise users have started expecting the same flexibility, ease of use, mobility in their workplace like the IT consumers in the marketplace. But legacy modernization is not so straight forward — not only is there a prohibitive transition cost, but the usual perils of business disruption and possible immediate negative impact on client experience, call for a well-orchestrated change management plan. The CIO’s challenge is not embracing new technologies but socializing, preparing the organization and effecting a smooth transition. The CIO has an onus to work towards a phased implementation strategy to accommodate newer innovations which can be quickly integrated with the existing IT infrastructure.
The Mphasis best practice has been a hybrid solution to this challenge. All new applications and solutions are being implemented either through cloud pay-for-use solutions or through modular development architecture that focuses on a framework that is easy to integrate and simple and easy to make changes. This way, we at least stop adding to the complexity of the legacy IT framework. But this is a tough and long journey for the CIO.
One of the key expectations from the legacy simplification and modernization from the CIO is empowerment of the employees, his business leaders and sales teams to do business-related actions significantly faster and with a lot more ease than before.
The way forward
One common question that confronts the CIO: How does he balance the ratio of his budget spend between IT innovation and IT for keeping the lights on? What is he truly measured on?
This question is gaining increasing relevance, what with the nexus of forces of SMAC ruling the business world in modern times. Speed and acceleration in business are measured by the shortness of distance and time between ideation and results from implementation. Without the involvement of cloud and mobility, such speeds cannot be achieved. How does the CIO manage his IT spend to siphon from the hygiene spend to innovation?
Fortunately, while legacy modernization has a heavy cost tag, such IT innovations do not always come with cost. Using technologies for collaboration in the workplace, bringing simultaneity in the organizations by real-time employee engagement, reducing time and effort spent on overhead activities by managers and by enabling decisions while on the run, the CIO can bring in great value with a little tweaking of budgets.
However, when it comes to planning and enabling revenue and business growth, well planned and carefully thought out IT investments would be needed to ensure that the company does not miss the right bus. The best judge for these investment decisions is the CIO himself, who needs to quickly get a strong understanding of the business intricacies of the company better than the technology he is familiar with. IT solutions cannot any more be a reaction to a business requirement. They have to be proactive seeds for business ideation and solutions.
At Mphasis, the CIO is measured by a single metric — cost of IT over the revenue of the company as a percentage. This is an interesting measure, which requires the CIO to be constantly aligned with the business ebbs and flows, and he should ensure that every dollar spent yields the best value.
In today’s dynamic business environment, a CIO’s involvement in the development of a company’s IT infrastructure in accommodating new technologies will shape the success of its growth. By significantly driving in business efficiency and agility, a robust unified IT infrastructure will help to equip organizations in becoming highly competitive whilst extracting optimum performance from its people, process and technology.
A key area for a CIO’s success is in being seen as a value deliverer to business, and not as a technology support entity. So there is a clear difference between how the business was looking at the CIO earlier and now. Therefore, the value we deliver to business has to be in the form of getting them to do whatever they are doing, only faster. The requirements now are speed, user experience, and IT simplification.
MG Raghuraman is CIO, MPHASIS
