CIO opinion
CIO OPINION
“
IN MOST
ORGANISATIONS,
THERE REMAINS A HUGE
GAP BETWEEN THE
RHETORIC OF DIGITAL
TRANSFORMATION AND
THE REALITY OF WHAT
IS POSSIBLE.
//////////////////
Darren Fields, Vice President, UK & Ireland, Citrix
The ‘CIO cycle’ is
endangering Digital
Transformation, says expert
CIOs must adapt their
approach to business
operations in order to
drive change within their
organisation. Darren
Fields, Vice President, UK
& Ireland, Citrix, discusses
a CIO’s responsibilities as
Digital Transformation
evolves, and offers his
best practice advice
as their role becomes
increasingly critical.
46
INTELLIGENTCIO
N
ot so many years ago, IT’s
role was primarily to supply
IT infrastructure and enable
efficiency through new systems. IT
departments were often viewed as
an unavoidable cost centre, quietly
responding to the bidding of boardrooms
and leadership teams to deliver better
processes and improved margins. In
2019, technology is now understood
as the great enabler of change,
competitiveness, modernisation and
better customer service.
Now, every customer and employee
expects a seamless digital experience
where the technology just ‘works’
– and behind the scenes it is the
responsibility of the CIO to deliver this.
New technologies such as cloud and the
IoT have evolved at a lightning pace,
providing CIOs with the opportunity to
bring value and enhanced productivity
to their business – moving away from
simply operating IT to orchestrating it.
Yet in most organisations, there remains
a huge gap between the rhetoric of
Digital Transformation and the reality of
what is possible.
IT has always grappled with a tension
that lies at the heart of deploying
technology into organisations. How do
you ensure an organisation is optimised
and functioning from day-to-day, yet
keep a watchful eye on the opportunities
of emerging technologies – and then
invest at the right moment, in just the
right way, to maximise IT potential and
to stay ahead of rivals?
CIOs face innumerable conflicting and
daunting challenges, needing to bring
about transformation, innovation and
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