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‘‘ business outcome . Fortunately , it appears many organizations understand this and are developing stronger relationships between business leaders , CFOs and CIOs . In fact , a recent Rimini Street survey found that a full 77 % of CFO respondents said last year ’ s challenging business landscape created a stronger relationship with their CIO . vendors can be good at getting to business executives and making them believe they always need the latest and greatest tech . If this happens , the CIO becomes the victim of whatever the decision-makers purchased . The business side always wants the fancy red velvet cake with a cherry on top , but in times like these , they may only need a cupcake .
2 . Focus first on quick ( but high impact ) wins that drive innovation forward . An all-too-common reaction when the business side of an organization doesn ' t like a system or process is to simply get rid of it . “ This isn ’ t working for me ” is a refrain that many CIOs have heard too many times . Making it worse , software
JENNIFER PERRY
Jennifer Perry ’ s career spans more than 24 years of IT experience with Fortune 100 and 500 companies in various industries including many years of hands-on experience as a certified SAP implementation consultant .
At Rimini Street , she is responsible for the expansion of the Company ’ s SAP services and products worldwide , including product strategy , management , messaging , delivery and sales . Prior to that , Ms . Perry was responsible for the delivery and management of all SAP support services for Rimini Street clients .
What CIOs need to concentrate on , then , is highimpact projects that help move the business forward . I ’ m not currently seeing a lot of major ERP overhauls , it ’ s more about quick wins . One organization I work with is a major telecommunications provider , and they ’ ve always been ahead of the game from a Digital Transformation standpoint . A recent quick win for them was addressing a specific process that helped them remain nimble and increase their subscriber base in the face of changing market conditions . Keep in mind that what a quick win looks like can depend on the industry . In retail , for example , it might mean improving the online shopping experience during a time when the bulk of physical locations were closed .
3 . Always remember the real revenue drivers : your end-users and customers . One area I often advise organizations to focus on when looking for these quick wins is the customer experience . If you allocate some of your IT budget toward making things easier for users and customers , it tends to boost satisfaction , not to mention the bottom line .
I once worked with a chemical distribution business that wanted to make it easier for people to buy their products . Everyone thinks about Amazon as the industry gold standard , so they invested in their sales platform to create an improved purchasing experience . Among the many customers were farmers and pest control companies , so this company set up a system where they could browse the website for specific types of insects , click on it , and then view the combination of chemicals they needed to get rid of that insect .
It turned out to be an innovative way to help their consumers and keep them coming back ; farmers would buy product for what they needed for the growing season , and later they would come back for chemicals to protect their produce .
In the end , there are two things we know for sure : fallout from the pandemic won ’ t end anytime soon , and neither will the desire to keep driving innovation forward . In this environment , it is as imperative as ever for CIOs to act shrewdly . And in most cases , developing strong relationships with business decision-makers and focusing on quick but impactful wins , all while keeping customers in mind , is a winning combination that will help get you there . p
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