Intelligent CIO Middle East Issue 87 | Page 84

FINAL WORD to work closely with their CIOs and other department heads to understand the exact impact that the network could have on every area of their business .
The network plays an integral role in allowing companies to become more sustainable , measure and prove their sustainability and build more sustainable products and services . For this reason alone , investing in the right network infrastructure should be at the top of any modern CEO ’ s agenda .
3 . It ’ s not just about keeping up , but staying ahead
Given the rate of change and disruption , any CEO simply using the network to keep operations moving and up with the latest technology has already lost the game . It used to be that if the network were down , your employees could do other manual work while waiting for a fix . However , if there are issues with the network then everything stops . In that sense , it has become fundamental to keeping businesses running .
Lars Koelendorf , EMEA Vice President of Solutions and Enablement at Aruba
2 . The network is key to all your sustainability goals
Sustainability isn ’ t just a strategic priority . For most companies around the world , sustainability has become the priority , given that it ’ s being driven both from the top-down , by company boards and investors and governments , and from the bottom-up , by employees and the public . You could even say that the network and sustainability have something in common : they both have an impact on all areas of the business . Which , in fact , means that the network can have an impact on all areas of sustainability !
But the network has so much more potential than this – to help the business continually stay ahead of and be differentiated from the competition . This is predominantly because investing in an agile network creates the foundation for every area of the business to innovate , from IT teams themselves to the company ’ s R & D department .
With an agile network , the infrastructure is always ready to integrate , support , secure and fund any new technological developments that might help the business to move the needle on its goals . Things move quickly . It ’ s up to the CEO to ensure that their business can move just as fast .
Creating strong C-Suite connections
\ What I hope this article has shown is that the network can no longer be the sole responsibility of any single executive or department . While this article has focused on the relationship between the CEO and the network , the real relationship is of course between the CEO and the rest of the C-Suite , particularly the CIO .
So , for CEOs , my advice is simple .
Investing in an agile network creates the foundation for every area of the business to innovate , from IT teams themselves to the company ’ s R & D department .
Focus on how you can empower your CIO to be an advocate for the network in your business and support all your C-Suite members to work together towards building a network that helps them achieve both their individual departmental and collective organisational goals .
After all , the business drives the network . But it is the C-Suite that drives the business , and the CEO that leads the C-Suite . p
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