Three out of every four companies consider Digital Transformation as essential for survival. There is also consensus that digital transformation goes beyond technology upgrades. It involves change management. The CIO is always in the crosshairs of the top management, to drive digital transformation. Here is how the role of the CIO is changing in the era of DX.

1. Promote Internal Efficiencies

Until not too long ago, the primary job of the CIO was to ensure the tech side of the enterprise works well. Today, the CIO also has to promote internal efficiencies and delight customers.

Enterprise IT is always a split between development and running. The “running” part of IT focuses on keeping things running. The “development” part of IT focuses on new implementations and improving processes. Digital transformation, to improve DX and meet changed customer expectations, requires more investment in development. The onus is on the CIO to balance these two functions. In today’s stressed business environment, the C-suite does not loosen purse strings easily. CIOs face pressure to tighten their running budget to fund development.

Successful CIOs:

• Keep their running budget to the minimum, by promoting internal efficiencies. They use the savings to fund Digital Transformation. 
• Deploy automated systems to make things fast and improve accuracy. Automated bots take care of routine processes. The CIO deploys humans on development projects and encourages innovation.

2. Make the Enterprise Agile

The post-pandemic world is fraught with uncertainties. CIOs have to work with nimble feet and make quick moves to survive, leave alone grasping opportunities.

The best CIOs implement digital transformation to make their enterprises agile. They:

• Set up seamless reporting systems, to ensure free flow of information and eradicate data silos.
• Establish transparency by mapping out all services and dependencies. Awareness of interdependencies makes aware the full implications of change.
• Set up cross-functional teams, pulling in resources from different domains. Entrusting ownership of product planning, development, and deployment to such teams eases coordination. It also reduces delays.
• Make change a continuous process. In today’s fluid business environment, the only constant is, change. New technologies render earlier ones obsolete fast. The changing customer preferences necessitate new processes and products. Enterprises with robust systems for build and test and continuous deployment cope with change well. Established feedback loops allow faster and better responses to issues.
• Encouraging innovation to do things better and unlock new value streams. Success in today’s competitive environment requires delivering extra value to customers.

Successful CIOs take up ownership of the enterprise’s digital factory. They prime up the enterprise digital systems with speed and flexibility. They explore new territories and product models.

3. Patronize Project Management Approach

Today, the CIO’s role aligns with that of a project manager. The top management looks to the CIO to define the digital transformation scope, conjure up a strategy, and devise a roadmap to implement the same.

Successful CIOs respond by:

• Orchestrating enterprise value systems by implementing automation, Artificial Intelligence, and other emerging technology.
• Changing their outlook to become more project-oriented, and seeing the bigger picture. For instance, successful CIOs consider time-to-value thinking over and above ROI.
• Establishing processes and tooling that encourage a project management approach
• Promoting a culture of project thinking over product thinking among the rank-and-file.
• Breaking down project activities into manageable steps. Or else, projects seem too daunting, and the rank-and-file will lose enthusiasm.
• Engage in predictive service management capabilities. Successful CIOs make informed decisions, relying on insights delivered by data analytics systems.

4. Become a Change Agent

More than four out of 10 CIOs believe their enterprise does not understand the benefits of digital transformation. There are many reasons for such pessimism. The top reasons include:

• Lack of support from the C-suite
• Poor alignment between the business and technology
• Convoluted business models
• Inability to get rid of legacy technology.

The onus is on the CIO to become a change agent and work towards overcoming such inhibiting factors. They become change agents and drive transformation change. They:

• Convince the C-suite on the benefits of digital transformation. Explain how the investment will deliver tangible, positive returns. CIOs need to set up KPIs with easily quantifiable Digital Transformation and DX. Quantification also fosters a culture of accountability, where everyone is aware of the results of their effort.
• Encourage a learning organization. Dynamic CIOs remain abreast of the advances in technology and understand how such advances affect the business. They also set up knowledge repositories and undertake other interventions. They encourage the rank-and-file to update their skills and knowledge.
• Set up effective collaboration systems, and open channels of communication. Open communication creates an environment conducive for innovation, diverse thinking, and growth.

5. Increasing Role in People Management

The CIO has an increasing role in activities traditionally considered the domain of the Human Resources team.

Digital transformation is no longer tweaking with inanimate processes. It now involves changing technology centered on people. In today’s knowledge economy, the employee is a key driver of competitive advantage. Happy employees deliver better output, leading to improved end-customer satisfaction. Best-in-class enterprises consider employees as internal customers and try to delight them, to make them stay. A key focus of digital transformation is to improve DX, and with it improve the employee experience. Improving DX comes with better internal tools and processes.

The onus is on the CIO to:

• Handle the technological facets of the change brought about by digital transformation. 74% of CIOs feel culture change is as much the CIO’s role as it is the CHRO’s role. 
• Work in close coordination with the Chief HR Officer to overcome resistance to change and make sure employees remain happy. The CIO has to mitigate the effects of the changes brought about by new tech adoption.

The CIO has always been at the forefront of digital transformation. 82% of the C-suite executives hold CIOs responsible for digital transformation initiatives. Successful CIOs adapt and broaden their expertise.

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