Three Industry Disruptions Forcing CIOs to Transform Their Inner “I”

The role of the enterprise chief information officer (CIO) has changed dramatically over the past decade. Today, just 58% of CIOs sit on the board compared to 71% just two years ago, and nearly two-thirds of organizations now allow a “business-managed” IT spend. What gives?

In his recent guest article for InformationWeek, WatchGuard’s own Wayson Vannatta explains how major industry disruptions including cloud, security and privacy, and big data have shifted responsibilities away from the enterprise CIO to other executive roles, and what IT executives can do as these changes trickle down to smaller organizations. Here’s a brief excerpt from the article with a few tips on how midmarket CIOs can transform their inner “I” to proactively maintain and grow their value:

“The good news is that these enterprise-level disruptions to the CIO role represent an opportunity to re-examine your position and make meaningful adjustments. Here are six role-changing routes every midmarket CIO should explore:

1. Become a “Chief Improvement Officer.” It’s time to become a more well-rounded, versatile CIO. Learn scripting languages like Python or Ruby to enhance cloud management. Spend time educating yourself on secure coding best practices. Scan podcasts like Arrested DevOps, The 443 – Security Simplified and Super Data Science for key industry trends. Invest time into developing capabilities that will improve your team and business.
2. Tackle the role of “Chief Instigation Officer.” Challenge your company to try new things. Should your organization adopt multi-factor authentication, or finally transition away from that old data warehouse nobody wants to manage? Develop your IT improvement plan, understand and overcome potential obstacles, and instigate change.”

For details on how major technology trends are impacting the role of the CIO and all six ways midmarket CIOs can respond proactively, read the full article at InformationWeek. Subscribe to Secplicity to receive the latest information security news, analysis and best practices directly to your inbox.