“The chief information officer is more important than ever before.”
Brian Solis, Altimeter Group research analyst, made this observation while pointing out in a recent report that the CIO is in a more collaborative frame of mind with the chief marketing officer (CMO) as enterprises undertake digital transformation in their organizations.
Solis further stressed that these two executives usually are in the same corner of the ring as they try to make sense of the issues that attend an enterprise’s digital evolution.
Citing research figures, he said that CMOs led the charge in digital transformation, with 54% of companies surveyed showing initiatives coming from the marketing front.
However, he said that CIOs play an equally important role as they focus on organizational processes and objectives to support transformation to address the requirements of an enterprise’s customers and employees.
Additionally, Solis noted the changing mindset surrounding technology: it has ceased to be the goal, and instead became an enabler for achieving enterprise goals.
“That's the irony about digital transformation; it doesn’t work when in of itself technology is the solution. Technology has to be an enabler and that enabler needs to be aligned with a bigger mission. We already found that companies that lead digital transformation from a more human center actually bring people together in the organization faster and with greater results,” Solis says.