Successful CIO in 2017: what is he?

CEOs of companies are increasingly looking for such technical managers who expand the boundaries of the organization’s capabilities and pay attention not only to its IT department.

In 2017, success is waiting for IT managers who are studying the experience of introducing new digital technologies outside their department and company. Experts say that IT managers are increasingly influenced by how they are perceived outside their traditional environment, while the list of technological problems they face is still great - from security issues and cloud usage to defining the IT group structure -specialists.

"It is always difficult for a top manager of a large organization to find time, but if a manager is interested in achievements not only in his industry, but also in others, he gains valuable experience," said Neil Ward-Dutton, research director. analyst firm MWD Advisors, speaking to IT leaders on the topic of IT priorities for the next year at the January meeting of the CW500 Computer Weekly club.
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“If a manager goes beyond his working environment and studies the achievements of other industries, he definitely spends time with benefits,” he said.

Progressive IT executives are learning marketing and advertising techniques to enhance the role of technology in business (for example, the transition to digital technology makes IT more accessible to customers).

“Many advanced IT executives that I communicate with (and people smile when I talk about this) hire brand managers and PR consultants to help them better present themselves in the business context,” said Spencer Izard ( Spencer Izard), Senior Analyst, Ovum Group of Corporate Consultants, in his presentation at the CW500 event. “CIOs are striving to develop themselves and increase their role in the highest expert councils of companies, which leads to the introduction of new technologies.”

Hiring the best specialists

Chris Chandler, head of recruitment at La Fosse Associates recruitment agency, noted that due to the lack of qualified personnel in the field of digital technologies and flexible software development, the company's good reputation is crucial for attracting the most talented professionals .

“Today it is very important for the employer to have the right image. If you need engineers, don't make them wear suits, ”he said.

In addition, some companies hire high-quality IT managers to attract the best specialists and expand their corporate horizons.

“We are witnessing how some organizations are beginning to“ buy ”the best specialists at a practically loss. “They overpay to charismatic leaders, who shine with eloquence at events,” Chandler said. “By hiring people with exceptional talents, companies simultaneously get the opportunity to easily hire their followers. Effective top managers themselves attract most of the right people to the company.

Sometimes bright top managers are hired for self-promotion. If an authoritative technology expert suddenly appears in the company, he immediately draws attention to himself. There are cases when hiring IT managers and technical directors has led to changes in the value of stocks of firms. ”

Excess resources

Authoritative IT managers with a broad outlook must understand how current trends affect the management of corporate technologies.
“Currently, the management of various resources (computing, network resources, storage) is being replaced by a model with so many resources that their value tends to zero,” said Ward-Dutton.

“It allows a new approach to investing and managing technologies, but many people are not really ready to use it yet,” he added.
According to Ward-Dutton, IT managers need to adapt their approaches to building information technology to these changes.

“Many IT executives received education in the 1980s and gained experience with limited resources. First of all, they are accustomed to thinking about how not to waste them. Now technical leaders need to look at things completely differently, he said. - In order to cope with uncertainty, it is necessary to optimize your actions. This is a very important change; Many technical managers are accustomed to structuring processes, but we need to abandon this style of work and learn to act dynamically together in the face of uncertainty and explore new things. ”

Chandler also noted that heads of companies want to expand the responsibility of information technology managers.

“We are looking for [for our clients] people who not only develop the capabilities of the technical department and the skills of specialists, but also are the face of the company. The directors want IT managers to be responsible for introducing digital technologies throughout the organization, ”he said.

Communication IT with business



Izard from Ovum noted that the main technological priorities for 2017 do not differ from those for 2016, but the style of interaction between IT professionals and business colleagues continues to encourage technical managers to implement changes.

“IT departments evaluate the development of business functions from a technological point of view. They do not use traditional IT services, but adapt them to customers' business requirements, he said. - Technology is easily quantifiable. From the point of view of most IT executives, they are mainly related to organizational structure. Is the IT function used the same way as before? Is it suitable for solving digital problems of an organization? What role does it play in attracting new talented professionals, developing the skills of existing employees and ensuring the right balance between digital and traditional IT support? ”

Of course, IT managers still need to provide access to IT and transfer their organizations to digital technology.

“One of the key tasks is to improve the quality of customer service. Nevertheless, in the absence of advanced business intelligence and information support, even the highest quality customer service does not make sense, because you cannot truly take advantage of digital technology, ”Izard explained. -
Many organizations still have to make great efforts to find the optimal model for providing resources. A large number of cloud products and a variety of companies complicate the choice of IT managers.

The main selection criteria are business results; All technological solutions of an organization must directly support its business goals and contribute to their achievement. ”

Which IT professionals will get a job in 2017

According to Chris Chandler, head of recruitment at the employment agency La Fosse Associates, in 2017 the most in-demand skills will be related to DevOps methodology, agile software development, cybersecurity, and data processing.

“Popularization of DevOps in 2016 will lead to the fact that in 2017–2018 this methodology will be implemented in most organizations. The same can be said about agile development, he explained. “This year, scarce staff developers who can quickly create client and server applications for mobile devices and PCs will be in great demand.

Another very relevant topic is safety. Companies are looking for information security executives with a wealth of technical and managerial experience. They expect that during the inevitable attacks such leaders will be able to quickly take the necessary measures. ”

DevOps developers and security experts are most in demand in the retail and financial services industries. Media companies are also looking for creative developers who specialize in virtual and augmented reality .

Manufacturing companies and commercial service providers who sometimes don’t rush to switch to digital technology require skills in the field of mobile technology; These companies are looking for IT executives with experience in outsourcing development to foreign contractors.

“Top-level technical managers should have experience in innovative business development using technology. In addition, companies are increasingly looking for people with experience in technical start-ups , ”Chandler said.