February 21, 2019
Our CIO Resolutions for 2019
I recently came across a very interesting article (original version available here) listing 2019 resolutions for IT leadership. Being CIOs ourselves, I took the liberty of selecting the ones that resonate most with us at MMO Techno, then translating and adapting them to […]
**I recently came across a very interesting article *(original version available here )* listing 2019 resolutions for IT leadership.
Being CIOs ourselves, I took the liberty of selecting the ones that resonate most with us at MMO Techno, then translating and adapting them to our vision.**
Drop the flashy
Conferences and events are great for several reasons, and one of them is showing off the wildest, flashiest gear to our competitors. We then come back to the office with a "I have got to have that" mindset. Be careful: what is good for one is not necessarily what another needs. We must not lose sight of our own roadmaps and objectives.
Yes, we must pay attention to how the competition innovates. Doing more with less. But we have to make sure we choose the right investments in line with our strategic plans, and not just what the competition is doing.
Let go
Many companies still waste too many resources simply keeping the lights on. This is especially true in small and mid-sized businesses, where nearly 80% of staff time goes to maintenance and support.
Outsourcing these resources as much as possible (support, etc.) lets your employees focus on operations, greater automation of their activities, improving relationships with their customers and suppliers, and the overall success of the company. It allows them to become champions of innovation within your organization.
Exercise your strategic-thinking skills
It is not enough to solve the problems your organization already knows about. To be a true leader, you must identify the problems no one has yet identified—partly because they do not know a solution exists for them, said Oli Thordarson, CEO of Alvaka Networks.
*"Know what keeps your bosses up at night and really understand how your company makes money,"* advises Thordarson. *"Then dig deeper to understand how technology delivers value to the business."*
Adopt a culture of continuous improvement
*"Organizations need to stop taking on projects that do not add value,"* said David Wallace, CTO at Greenphire. *[…] Continuously releasing product improvements delivers considerable value while boosting the morale of internal teams."*
Put your existing data to work
You have probably already accumulated a huge amount of data, but much of it remains unstructured, siloed, and inaccessible to the people who need it most.
*"IT teams must ensure that the marketing, product, and other departments effectively leverage the data already available to them to inform strategy and other business decisions,"* says Tasso Argyros, CEO of ActionIQ.
By the way, we have an article coming soon on the enormous potential companies have when the powers of the CMO and CIO are combined. Stay tuned!
Open your arms to the cloud
*THE* biggest trend in information technology for several years. What IT leadership often forgets is the strategy behind a multi-cloud architecture. The most important thing is that it supports business operations.
Not sure you fully grasp the benefits of a cloud solution? Take a look at our latest article on the subject.
Network
Being a "geek" today no longer means hiding behind a computer or in a data center. Building a network—interpersonal, not technological—has become essential, just as IT is now essential in a business.
The success of technology leaders is also their ability to build a network across teams, partners, and even competitors.
Put confidentiality and privacy first
Prepare for the arrival of a "GDPR" in North America. Because we are hearing more and more about data breaches and the many allegations swirling around Facebook. Get ahead with how confidential data is managed. Encryption, masking, or tokenization—there is a wealth of options tailored to your needs and resources.
Get to know AI
Change is scary; it is in our genes. But like it or not, artificial intelligence is at our doorstep. Lately more of a buzzword than a reality, within a few years it will be implemented everywhere. Start informing yourself, reading, and understanding more about how it could help the business. In operations, customer service, sales. In short, automating certain business processes is certainly worth considering. You will already be one step ahead of your competitors.
Prepare for a tsunami of IoT data
By 2021, Cisco predicts that IoT devices will produce nearly 850 zettabytes of data per year, more than 40 times the information generated by the world's data centers.
*"IT teams must start planning their IoT and edge-computing strategy now so they can capture the data that will give them a competitive advantage,"* says Wendy Pfeiffer, CIO of Nutanix.
Become champions of change
Information technology should be the champion of change, the place where anything is possible. To technology leaders: step out of your comfort zone and dare to say yes. Look further, think differently.
Care about end-user security
Security no longer stops at the desk of the CSO or CISO. Users remain the weakest link in the company's security chain, including within the IT department.
On average, 57% of companies still grant local administrator rights to ordinary users—and the larger the organization, the more likely they are to do so, according to a survey by PolicyPak.
In Proofpoint's 2018 User Risk Report, 33% of surveyed users could not define the term phishing, and 64% did not know what ransomware is.
*"The best security tools in the world will not eliminate every attack,"* says Jeff Bittner, founder and president of exIT technologies.
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