{"id":11507,"date":"2018-11-07T10:54:23","date_gmt":"2018-11-07T16:54:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/?p=11507"},"modified":"2022-11-22T16:09:58","modified_gmt":"2022-11-22T22:09:58","slug":"5-challenges-facing-cios-and-it-leaders-in-2019-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/2018\/11\/5-challenges-facing-cios-and-it-leaders-in-2019-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"5 challenges facing CIOs and IT leaders in 2019 (Part 1)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Education\"Summary: As technology evolves at an ever-increasing pace, it brings major challenges to the IT department. Modern CIOs and IT leaders must recognize and prepare for these challenges if they hope to remain competitive in the coming years. What challenges can we expect in 2019? In this article, we examine 5 challenges facing CIOs and IT leaders. <\/em><\/span>
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photo credit: geralt<\/a> via pixabay<\/a> cc<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>Over the past few years, we\u2019ve seen significant changes to the IT department. The cloud has changed how we think about software. Mobile has changed where and how we work. The ongoing push towards digital transformation is changing the business as a whole. The list could go on.<\/p>\n

While these changes bring benefits to the IT department, they also bring challenges. As technology continues evolving, CIOs and IT leaders must stay ahead of the curve. The most successful CIOs are those that recognize new challenges and adapt accordingly.<\/p>\n

So, what challenges will CIOs and IT leaders face in the coming year? As this is such a broad topic, we\u2019re breaking it up into two parts. We\u2019ll cover the first 5 challenges today, and the rest in a future article. Sound good? Okay, here are 5 of the biggest challenges facing CIOs and IT leaders in the near future:<\/p>\n

Preparing for the voice revolution<\/h3>\n

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photo credit: Knowridge<\/a> via pixabay<\/a> cc<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>I read an interesting article on CIO.com recently about Digital 2.0<\/span>. In short, Digital 2.0 goes beyond mobile devices\/apps and into an anywhere, anytime, any platform mindset. It\u2019s about putting information and support at the customer\u2019s fingertips, wherever they are.<\/p>\n

The driving force behind this change: Voice interfaces. We\u2019ve seen it coming for a while now, starting with \u201csmart\u201d speakers like Amazon Alexa and Google Home. Now, more and more devices are shipping with voice controls. As explained below, this is the wave of the future. <\/p>\n

\n\u201cIt’s no wild guess to say that voice is the next major wave,\u201d says Jeremiah Rizzo from Nettology<\/span><\/a>. \u201cAdvocates like Gary Vee have stated that in the same way the television revolutionized the American home, starting in just a few homes, and scaling to multiple TV’s in just about every home, voice will follow the same pattern. At the end of the day, voice saves time. And anything that saves time, is going to be sought after and adopted by customers. It’s much easier to listen to an audiobook while commuting to work than to read one in your nighttime hours. It’s easier to digest information through a podcast than to comb through internet articles. Platforms like Alexa have made it easier than ever to leverage voice for your company’s product, and to connect with your customers on their various home devices. This, along with the momentum we see in machine learning advancing self-driving cars, customer service bots, etc., will be two major areas that CIOs need to focus their time and make sure they’re both staying competitive in, and leveraging for the benefit of their customers. It feels very much to me like an atmosphere where you could be a major company or major player in a given space, who ends up losing out in 5 years if you don’t stay current with voice, machine learning, etc. and being where your customers want you to be.\u201d\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Now, will everything switch over to voice interfaces in 2019? Of course not. But, it is the wave of the future, and modern CIOs must start preparing now.<\/p>\n

Security and Customer Privacy<\/h3>\n

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photo credit: mohamed_hassan<\/a> via pixabay<\/a> cc<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>The New EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) went live on May 25th of this year. It created a law to enforce European data protection & regulation rules, and the right to personal data protection.<\/p>\n

How does it apply to IT? Or perhaps a better question: How does it apply to IT departments outside of the EU?<\/p>\n

First, GDPR applies to any organization that does business with EU residents. Second, while GDPR is the first of its kind, we can expect regulations like this to crop up in the US as well.<\/p>\n

While we won\u2019t get into all of the details in this article (as the topic is very broad), here\u2019s a short overview: GDPR provides strict guidelines on how organizations use and protect personal data. It also means that customers have the rights to have their personal data deleted upon request. That means IT departments must understand where sensitive data is located, how it\u2019s protected, and who has access to the data.<\/p>\n

This makes issues like Shadow IT and data security even more important. IT departments can\u2019t afford to have data floating around that they can\u2019t monitor. Businesses can\u2019t afford to have sloppy data security habits.<\/p>\n

Why is it so important? Violations of GDPR can lead to massive fines. If your company operates in the EU, or even collects data on EU citizens, this is something that cannot be ignored.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cI feel the biggest challenge for 2019 would be security and customer privacy,\u201d says Amna Rizvi, CEO of TechCrunchX<\/span><\/a>. \u201cNowadays, after many big incidents involving huge companies like Facebook, Dept of Homeland Security, FedEx etc, not only do consumers care more about their data, even governments worldwide are doing a lot, e.g. Europe’s GDPR law taking effect. As more and more things become digitized, increasing IoT devices, security will still be the #1 challenge for IT leadership in 2019.\u201d\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Capitalizing on your data despite growing regulations<\/h3>\n

At a recent conference, we heard a common refrain from multiple CIOs and IT leaders: \u201cWe\u2019re data rich but insight poor.\u201d They have lots of data, but aren\u2019t capitalizing on it. <\/p>\n

Now, this isn\u2019t a new challenge. It\u2019s been an ongoing struggle for CIOs over the last few years. How can you turn your data into a competitive advantage?<\/p>\n

I mention it again this year for a couple of reasons. First, it\u2019s still incredibly important. Those that can capitalize on their data have a significant advantage of the competition. <\/p>\n

Second, new regulations (like GDPR) make this more challenging. These days, you must keep a data trail for all personally identifiable data. Where did it come from? Did the person consent to have their data collected? Can it be completely removed from your system if they request it? Not only must you turn your data into a competitive advantage, you must follow strict guidelines or face hefty fines.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cData has been the biggest business word for the last couple of years,\u201d says Nate Masterson, CMO of Maple Holistics<\/span><\/a>. \u201cLast decade was all about synergy, this decade is all about data. Data collection is one of the most important functions of a company, but once you have that data, what can you do with it? With GDPR it\u2019s become a much more complex answer, add to that, the fact that technology systems are becoming more advanced every year. The question for the coming year will be how to take advantage of the data you have without getting into liability issues. It will also to make your company GDPR compliant in preparation for whatever data regulations are placed on the US-based and run companies.\u201d\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Automation<\/h3>\n

In today\u2019s business environment, agility is more important than ever. Why? This article<\/span><\/a> in Forbes sums it up nicely:<\/p>\n

\u201cIn today\u2019s market, not only is change happening quickly, it\u2019s forcing businesses themselves to change quickly. It\u2019s a constant flow of innovation, disruption \u2014 and sometimes chaos \u2014 that is moving us ahead, even faster than we ever imagined. Many say agility is the key to surviving in the age of technological hairpin turns. In fact, 68% of companies identify agility as one of their most important initiatives.\u201d<\/p>\n

The problem is, many businesses are still stuck with manual processes that kill agility. In fact, one of the biggest productivity killers across the business world stems from a lack of automation. In companies around the globe, IT departments waste their time performing manual tasks that could (and should) be automated.<\/p>\n

What do these processes look like? Here are a few common examples:<\/p>\n