Mobility, cloud, big data challenge CIOs

Though there are many trends percolating through the local IT space, enterprise mobility, cloud computing and big data are presenting CIOs with the biggest challenges.

So says Michael Vincent, director for innovation and strategy at Deloitte Consulting, who is also a keynote speaker at the upcoming CSSA President's Awards.

Vincent believes each of these trends will receive critical importance on the CIO's radar in the coming 12 to 18 months.

Regarding enterprise mobility, Vincent says large enterprises have moved rapidly in adopting the revolutionary potential of mobile apps to both enable and transform business processes.

He explains that as CIOs gain experience in the design and engineering of good mobile apps, there tends to be an explosive growth in the number of apps in and around the enterprise.

To unleash the full potential of mobility at enterprise level, Vincent urges organisations to channel that growth through a sensible mobility strategy and towards advance planning of enterprise enablement, including mobile app management, mobile device management (BYOD) and enterprise app stores.

For cloud computing, he notes that evidence suggests the hybrid cloud model will be a dominant approach for large enterprises.

"As the services catalogue grows within the enterprise, there is a need for integration, monitoring and management capabilities. In addition, there is an emerging need for the subscriber and their ecosystem of providers to be able to share services for integration, workflow, business rules and business policy - cloud-to-cloud, in the cloud. Together, these define a hyper-hybrid cloud model," says Vincent.

On big data, Vincent is of the view that, just as businesses have started to appreciate the potential of information as a strategic asset, they are also overwhelmed by big data - big volumes, big velocity, big variety and big value.

"Many organisations have long-standing information management programmes, but not many are prepared for this embarrassment of riches. Big data goes to work when organisations tap the data veins - structured and unstructured data, from inside and outside the enterprise - to unearth new signals and hidden insights."

Thus, he points out that while these challenges fall into broad categories of disruptors and enablers, these trends demand CIOs think differently about their roles within the organisation.

"IT needs to change from being a provider of technology to being the provider and custodian of information. There is tremendous business value that technology can unlock, but it needs to be focused and planned for.

"CIOs are enabling business through their IT departments and the information they can provide. The critical point to note here is that CIOs need to show and report on business value. While each of the trends we are seeing has a fundamental need for a shift in technology, they are ultimately there to drive business value."

Faced with these challenges, Vincent points out that CIOs need to engage with business on the outcomes they are looking to achieve to solve business needs.

"CIOs need to move out of their immediate comfort zones and control the information and not just the systems within their domains. This, coupled with careful planning, will aid the CIOs in successfully navigating these trends as well as many others that are on their radars at the moment."

At the CSSA President's Awards, attendees will witness the awarding of the IT Personality of the Year Award, Visionary CIO of the Year Award, IT Leading Employer Award, and Distinguished Service in ICT Award. The event takes place on 8 November, at Montecasino.

In his keynote, Vincent will discuss the forces that are shaping the world in which IT companies can thrive.

Click here for more details.