How new CIOs can change business in India

CIOs are considered as the backbone of new era companies, which makes it mandatory for them to perform up to the mark.

FREMONT, CA: The mission of IT in enterprises is changing, business drives IT, and in turn, information technology enables the business. It is also known as business-IT alignment. The CIOs plays a predominant role to facilitate revenue growth. Although IT-business alignment is more natural said than done in practice as there exist significant gaps between what the business wants and what the IT systems deliver.

The digital transformation is one of the most significant transitions faced by a vast majority of companies today. The control of this transition is in the hand of CIO of an organization.  A new CIO faces a lot of challenges and the burden of several expectations. CIO is considered as the owner of life and blood of the company, so it is mandatory for the person to manage the digitization within the company successfully.

Following are the ten qualities which a CIO should possess:

1. Leadership: A good CIO must maintain excellent leadership quality to lead the team in a better way. The CIO must be a genuine player on the senior management team rather than a functional lead so that his contribution has an impact on the company's mindset, actions, and business. The CIO should lead a new acquisition strategy in the information and technology sector to contribute to business units by developing appropriate information. They should manage their team as well as actively intervene in decision-making at the management level.

2. Have clear goals: It is essential to have a clear goal in mind, and then only he could implement it in the company. It is crucial to instigate a digital transformation with clear objectives that have been inspired by a more holistic approach. Digitization offers a source of information that helps to make better decisions, which reduces costs and improves productivity.

3. Winning communication skills: Good communication skill is another critical capability requirement. The person should know to communicate and share the ideas properly with the team. There is a need to own innovative and successful brands are a key CIO strategy.

4. Introduce new changes: A CIO must introduce new changes to the business community, which can remold the landscape of the organization and can deliver benefits. They can renew IT strategy by improving staff efficiency.

5. Gradually spread the wings: It is good to start with a small project better than taking up an overly ambitious one. The right way to success begins with the little stepping stones, taking any big item without proper knowledge can lead to negative repercussions.

6. Early adopter: In the era of cut-throat competition, it is more beneficial for the companies to be early adopters. No one will wait for the company to transform, so the CIO has to prove their worth by running fast and catching new trends.

7. Openness to change: CIO should be open to accepting all the changes at any uncertain time. They should act as innovators and process experts in some circumstances.

8. Build a strong relationship with the community: They should step out of their box and should work closely with the other groups and value other departments to build a healthy relationship.

9. Oversee the whole work: They must pay total attention to look after the work done by their team members. They should be conscious of department plans, develops, delivers, and activities.

10. Create smooth transition: It is important to visualise the digital future of a company as being able to make a transition in a flexible manner.

CIOs are often expected to align strategies and tactics to support business growth as their role continues to become more critical. CIOs can improve knowledge management as well as respond quickly to market changes. It is the job of CIO to create more strategic ideas to support business and to consider radical solutions to bring IT and business together.

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