Is CISO/CDO/CMO threats to CIO?

Not long ago most businesses shifted to the digital world. Everyone from this sector is racing towards digitization of all internal workflows and processes. Competition in the market becomes stiff (marketing, presentation, strategy) but in the other side delivery of goods towards the end user becomes stress-free because of the transformation injected by leaders to a more automated and defined processes or standards. The traditional approach of doing business did really change overnight because of technology.

Shifting to digital age is inevitable. Once left behind, it’s game over. It’s the age where time is commodity.

As business rapidly moving towards the digital world and technology becomes a forefront of the business, IT organization is also swiftly transforming to meet the demands of the industry. More than ten years ago, IT organizations are not part of the income generating segment of the company. IT is merely just the support group. Today, IT becomes the integral part of the business. IT leadership now evolves to be more business oriented rather than being technical. Perception changes. Chief Information Officer or #CIO is the new business driver in the C-level. CIO looks at business and technology function as one strategic role. The legacy of running a business isn’t over yet but CIO’s role are now advancing to a new heights. Their being business centric and competency in technology are two combined skills that digital transformation is dependent to. Every successful brand in the market is a byproduct of strong digital marketing campaign and adoption of digital processes like automation, analytics, secured infrastructure and reliable enterprise application to support end-to-end delivery – these are merely part of CIO’s vision and contribution to company’s revolution.

The evolution of roles adds complexity to the organization. As you go through with the hottest topics today in the industry, you’ll be meeting new roles like Chief Information Security Officer or #CISO, Chief Digital Officer or #CDO and Chief Marketing Officer or #CMO. These are new roles with “Chief” prefixes in the technology team. These are equally significant role specific to single segment of the digital cluster that drives autonomously to the success of the team. Are these new roles a threat to the #CIO in the near future? My answer is “No”. The CIO role is a unique character that caters both business and technology. The new “C”s in the IT organization are major roles bound to support the vision, strategy and governance of the CIO. The #CISO is there to fulfill the security measure while the #CMO and #CDO satisfies the requirement of the customer through digitization. CIOs will remain as the most influential person in redefining and directing the enterprise in terms of technology innovation that rallies customer experience.

Lastly, since CIOs become visionaries, strategists and well immersed to the in-and-outs of the business while his skills in technology remain steadfast, is CIO the next CEO?