NOVEMBER 20169these competitors, and information technology is often the only leveller which enables the disrupted to quickly reor-ganize to better or at least match the product and service offerings from the disruptors.CIOs nowadays need to proactively find ways in which technology available in the market, even if at a preliminary stage, can be used to disrupt their industry. They also need to improve the muscle tone of the organization to the point where they can offer solutions and support new product and service introduction in short timelines. Additionally, many of the innovations which have come in by way of business practices and acceptable industry norms can be adopted to create lower cost and more efficient operating models. The need to speak up at the boardroom table has never been more pressing, and CIOs need to rise to the new chal-lenges. This change has not been received kindly by all the key business leaders. Some of the less proactive leaders ex-ist in denial of the disruptive potential of the new entrants, preferring to live in hope that the disruptions are temporary and that they would soon get back to `business as usual'. To them, the intervention by CIOs to create the disruptions anticipating the market are seen as threats to continued op-erations and they sometimes tend to respond in a negative way. They also feel more empowered to challenge the in-ternal disruptions as opposed to the external market where they do not have a choice but to acknowledge and respond to the change!This challenge often comes back in one of two forms, the sustainability or viability of the disruptor's business model, and the likelihood of the disruptive event happen-ing in the first place. Sometimes, this challenge spills over from the professional to the personal, with key stakehold-ers challenging the business credentials of the CIO and the validity of the assumptions made in structuring the proofs of concept.For example, when challenged to meet the enhanced service levels provided by e-Commerce players, the ex-cuse of sustainability and viability of competitors' business models is frequently brought up. Shakeups in the e-Com-merce market are discussed widely as expressions of un-sustainability of cost structures in the industry and reliance on discounting. Business functions would attribute the bet-ter customer service provided by the e-Commerce players to the increased investment brought in and the lower rate of return expected by these players in their initial years. Ideally, there should be openness to consider at least con-ceptually all of these eventualities and prepare them as ef-fectively as possible.So, what does this mean for the traditional alignment which CIOs were practising? Is it now something of the past, with no place in the new paradigm of digital transfor-mation? On the contrary, I believe that the new paradigm calls for significantly greater alignment at a completely dif-ferent level. CIOs need to work very closely with business unit and functional leaders to help them understand the im-pact of digital transformation at different levels and address the concerns in a non-threatening manner, driving them to think of ways to improve product and service offerings and decrease costs through innovative use of technology. Suc-cessful CIOs will emerge from this situation with higher relevance to the business and potentially a higher profile as well! CIOs nowadays need to proactively find ways in which technology available in the market, even if at a preliminary stage, can be used to disrupt their industryVinod Krishnan
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