In an era of cloud computing, big data and increasing dominance of mobile devices, the way an organisation interacts with IT is now very different.
So says Nick Wonfor, country manager, sub-Saharan Africa at CommVault SA, who points out that a key component of the new CIO role is the ability to proactively encourage the business to embrace innovation at a time of fundamental technology change that is creating significant upheaval and disruption.
"How can an organisation exploit new social network models, ubiquitous broadband and limitless storage?" asks Wonfor.
One thing is clear, he says, noting that the next generation digital business is completely dependent upon and enabled by real-time, anywhere access to high quality information. Organisations cannot achieve innovation and competitive differentiation without IT. However, to understand the true potential and opportunities requires a complete, accurate and end-to-end view of information and processes throughout the enterprise, he says.
Leading change
"The CIO is in an excellent position to identify and create value from enterprise-wide synergies in these areas," Wonfor notes. "But before any CIO can go to the business with ideas for innovation that will deliver competitive advantage, the underpinning data infrastructure has to be in place and that requires a very different approach."
Wonfor observes that in the past, IT was doing its job if systems were running well across all locations; timely backups were taken; and data stored securely on disk. Gradually, he adds, this evolved to a centralised strategy where IT exploited more sophisticated and efficient storage to migrate data to central locations and impose greater control.
"This is no longer good enough; IT needs to ensure that all end users - and increasingly business partners - can not only access data efficiently but also collaborate with that information in real-time, he adds.
"From the construction workers requiring real-time access to 3D models on their tablets while on site, to the rescue workers relying upon accurate geographical data when responding to an emergency, fast access to trusted, accurate information is key."
Data in the cloud
According to Wonfor, this fundamental reliance upon real-time, anywhere access to information via a huge diversity of devices, combined with the pressing requirement for innovation, changes the emphasis for the CIO and IT department. For IT, it is now essential to offload the basics of hardware, software and support and concentrate on the role of exploiting IT to deliver value.
"Streamlining the data infrastructure - and reducing the reliance on IT personnel - frees up budget to spend on delivering real business value. As a result, an increasingly important component of this data management strategy is to seamlessly move corporate information from on-premise into to the cloud - and ensure secure access from any location."
Tough decisions
Wonfor is of the view that a cloud model also delivers that anytime, anywhere access to data users now require. "However, this is not a simple step for organisations. It is certainly not practical to move all corporate data into the cloud at once. Organisations need to take a phased approach to data migration - and consider the impact on end users."
He points out that underpinning this new role is information, the creation and exploitation of information and process assets are vital components of digital enterprise innovation and effectiveness.
"To confidently and successfully take new ideas for competitive differentiation to the business, the CIO must first create a holistic view of information and processes across the extended enterprise and ensure the right data infrastructure is in place to deliver that anytime, anywhere information model," concludes Wonfor.
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