Bob Bailkoski, Global Chief Executive Officer of Logicalis Group, International IT Solutions and Managed Services Provider.
No one exists in a bubble, not least the CIO. The days when IT was a siloed function are happily behind us but the prominence and level of spending going into IT puts it directly in the spotlight when times get tough. In the face of ongoing economic uncertainty, demonstrating IT’s continued value in supporting business objectives while mitigating risks has become crucial.
Elevating The Conversation To Business Outcomes
Digital transformation is driven by either the opportunity it brings to deliver efficiencies, or the way it can help drive innovation and provide exceptional customer experiences. In a climate of cautious business spending, CIOs face a challenging position on prioritization and identifying what truly matters for their business. The modern CIO is looking beyond the crucial delivery of uptime and availability towards attaining business outcomes that deliver enhanced user and customer experience, security compliance and sustainability. By aligning business outcomes with the organization’s goals, CIOs can directly impact revenue generation, deliver efficiencies and foster innovation even in times of economic uncertainty.
The Importance Of Insights
One of the biggest challenges is being able to identify where investment will be beneficial or savings are possible. CIOs don’t have a shortage of data, but insights are harder to come by. By working with partners that can bring together the data from across the entire digital estate, it’s possible to identify where savings are possible.
Likewise, this kind of insight applies just as strongly to investment. With concrete metrics proving ROI, CIOs can justify the spending required to evolve IT priorities along with the shifting needs of the business. By having clear data, CIOs can demonstrate the value and impact needed to build executive support for investment.
Keeping Watch Of The Forces At Play
As well as looking inward, it’s important to keep watch of the external forces. The following four areas of the wider global economy continue to have a direct impact on IT:
Talent Shortage
The global labour shortage and competition for talent is continuing to drive up IT salaries and turnover rates as workers take advantage of favourable job markets. CIOs have an ongoing challenge to retain staff and recruit sought-after skills through competitive wages among other factors.
High IT Energy Costs
Sustained high energy prices are substantially increasing data center, cloud and networking costs. While there’s been some price softening, the ongoing volatility in the energy market and the significance of this as a cost to the IT function means device efficiency must continue to be a focus for savings.
Instability And Cyber Security
Geopolitical tensions have driven a direct uplift in cybersecurity threats, making strong defences non-negotiable. Even when spending is cautious, CIOs need to double down on security fundamentals as well as business continuity planning.
Global Economic Conditions
Throughout 2023, business leaders have had one eye on the global economy watching for further signs of a downturn. While the picture has been mixed across the world, the general feeling of unease has resulted in cautious spending which shows no sign of changing.
Reducing Risk Through Partnerships
The global economic climate is constantly changing, which can make it difficult for CIOs to plan for the future. By building strong partnerships, CIOs can create a network of support that can help them to navigate through uncertain times.
The key to identifying these partners is to look for one that understands not just the tech you need but the business outcome you are trying to achieve. By getting under the skin of the business, a good partner will help you achieve those long-term business outcomes.
And with the right partners, CIOs can tap into learnings from other organizations or industries, become more agile and reduce risk. In doing so, you can strategically help bring down fixed costs, access skills flexibly, implement elastic infrastructure and focus internal effort on the most valuable initiatives.
Coming Out Stronger
It’s entirely possible for IT to come through this period in better shape than it started. Business outcomes are the new SLA.
By shifting conversations to business outcomes, taking a balanced, strategic approach, using data, demonstrating value and leveraging partners, CIOs can navigate the economic and global obstacles while still advancing IT and the business’s objectives.
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