What priorities should CIOs be focusing on this year?
CIOs have many priorities they must focus on each day. As 2018 rolls on, these are the top ten priorities to consider.
With digital transformation underway, CIOs have many priorities they must worry about on a day-to-day basis. As 2018 moves forward, though, it is important for CIOs to understand the top ten priorities that they must focus on to make their business better.
Top 10 CIO Priorities 2018
A major priority many CIOs need to have in 2018 is establishing their digital cred. Back in 2014, many companies predicted that CDOs would replace CIOs by 2020. This is not the case but there are still many CIOs that feel like they could be replaced at any moment. Any CIO that feels this way needs to prove to their company and co-workers that they are essential for the business and are not going anywhere anytime soon.
At the top of the list of CIO top priorities is for CIOs to look at information security a bit differently than they did five years ago. Cybercriminals have increased their sophistication when it comes to the types and amount of attacks they impose on companies. A few major security breaches that happened in 2017 resulted in a few CIOs losing their jobs and no CIO wants to worry about this. To avoid any more severe breaches, CIOs need to look at long-term solutions to ensure their company’s security.
With IoT, AI, machine learning and advanced data analytics, companies are now able to take their business into adjacent industries and reach far beyond the traditional borders of their company. Many companies are using these technologies to merge with similar companies like CVS did with Aetna.
One of the major CIO trends of 2018 is to consider repositioning the company’s products as subscription services. Many companies have begun to use this repositioning to their advantage like Dollar Shave Club with shavers, Spotify with music and even food with Blue Apron. Repositioning products as services increases the monthly revenue for your company.
One of the top CIO challenges is focus. In a global economy where there are many experts covering many genres, it does not generate much wealth for a company to be a “jack of all trades.” CIOs need to help their company focus on the top one or two things they do best and increase their knowledge in those areas. When a company focuses on too many things they end up not satisfying their customers in any of the aspects they focus on.
A major priority for CIOs in 2018 is to focus on automating everything they can. Once everything that can be automated in a company is, company employees can focus on higher-value work. When employees are not busy with daily, repetitive tasks that can be easily done by automation, they are freer to focus on work that is of much more value to the company.
Machine learning has helped companies a great deal, especially when it comes to algorithms that benefit the company in major ways. It is essential for CIOs to implement more machine learning into their company to not only assist employees but customers as well.
Blockchain is very beneficial to CIOs because it allows multiple entities in a transaction to share their data when a central authority is not available. When companies use blockchain to share their data, they can be certain that their data is secure and that it will not be altered.
Another essential priority for CIOs in 2018 is to educate their co-workers on the power and language of technology. Technology is very powerful and having co-workers that can understand technical language will not only benefit your company, but it also allows you, as CIO, to be less worried about technology mishaps that may happen within the company.
No matter what other priorities as a CIO you may have, allowing time, resources and energy for innovation is the most important priority that should be on your list. In the age of digital transformation, new technologies are constantly emerging in every sector. Allowing a substantial amount of time for innovation will allow your company to stay ahead of the curve and your competitors.
