Role and Responsibilities of the CIO

WHAT IS A CIO?: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER

Here at the CIO WaterCooler, we consider the CIO role to be one of the most important roles within the executive teams.  In today's business landscape enterprises need to not only cope but thrive in a state of constant change, the rate of which increases exponentially.  The key component allowing that change is technology, and all companies need someone to manage that change, while providing an environment that doesn't hinder innovation but protects the business from a lack of governance.

What are the responsibilities of the CIO?

What is a CIO? And what do they do? The responsibilities of an IT leaders can be broken down in lots of ways, and in many enterprises they responsibilities can spread amongst other related roles such as the chief data officer, chief digital officer, chief information security officer and IT director; the list can be endless.   However, often these can be found under the umbrella of the CIO.  And all of areas are interlinked.

Traits of a successful CIO

Communication - A CIO sits in a position to drive business growth and efficiency the a technology strategy that aligns with the business goals, but to be a successful CIO you must be able to communicate the vision and benefit of change within the organisation.  This includes communicating both at board level but also through out the business and not just with in the IT team.

People - People and culture is a topic that has come into focus like never before. The expectations of a modern workforce, namely millennials and Gen Z, seem to be driving the need for a more intelligent approach. This includes but is not limited to creative development, flexible, remote working and a generally more humane approach to work-life balance. CIOs have become champions for the importance of culture, putting it above all else in the recipe for success.

Emerging tech - Not only is ‘new tech’ not so new anymore, but there are also real-life examples of how organisations are testing, developing and leveraging AI, Data, AR/VR, IoT. 5G and Blockchain hold tremendous potential, in terms of the former’s ability to power the current opportunities and decentralised platforms enabling democratisation across society.