In this ever-dynamic world of IT, where a technology that is in vogue now becomes a thing of the past in the blink of an eye; a world where ignorance and obsolescence are imminent and ever-looming threats, knowledge is power. And CIOs are the superheroes that wield this power.
Not only do they have to be quick-witted in spotting and grabbing opportunities even before they make their presence known to the general public, but they also play a pivotal role in the development and implementation of new technologies in the organization, keeping in mind the compliance and their overall alignment with the company's objectives. The CIO makes sure that the IT resources of the company are used optimally and cost-effectively so that the company thrives.
It indeed takes a superhuman to carry so much weight on their shoulders. Here's a list of the top CIOs in the US (alphabetically), that are making their IT companies forge ahead in a blaze and ushering the rest of us to the age of advancement.
After an all-out push of applications and data to the cloud over the past decade, some companies, disappointed with the results, are now considering a reverse migration-at least in part.
Most IT leaders have assets moved to the cloud to achieve some combination of better, faster, or cheaper compute and storage services. They also expect to benefit from the expertise of cloud providers - expertise that isn't easy for companies to develop and maintain in house, unless your company happens to be a technology provider.
The 2023 TEKsystems Digital Transformation report reveals some sobering trends on how the current economic uncertainty is having an impact.
IT service management vendor TEKsystems released its 2023 State of Digital Transformation report on Feb. 28, revealing how economic uncertainty is having an impact on decision-making.
Among the key findings in the report is that there are four key strategies that help separate digital transformation leaders from laggards.
Preparation is key in preventing the worst outcomes from a data breach, so it is important to have a plan in place ahead of time. Here are some steps you can take to prepare for a potential data breach:
Assess your risk: Conduct a risk assessment to identify sensitive data, potential sources of threats, and vulnerabilities in your systems and processes.
Strengthen your security: Implement strong security measures such as encryption, multi-factor authentication, and firewalls to protect your systems and data. Regularly update and patch your software and hardware to stay ahead of the latest threats.
Establish a breach response team: Designate a team of employees who are responsible for responding to a breach. Train them on their roles and responsibilities, as well as the latest breach response techniques.
Develop a breach response plan: Draft a plan that outlines the steps to be taken in the event of a breach. Make sure everyone on the response team is familiar with the plan and knows their part.
Test your plan: Regularly test your breach response plan to ensure it is effective and everyone knows what to do in an actual breach.
Review and update regularly: Regularly review and update your security measures and breach response plan to stay ahead of the latest threats and techniques.
Notify the relevant authorities: Be aware of the laws and regulations regarding data breaches in your jurisdiction, and have the contact information for relevant authorities readily available in case of a breach.
By taking these steps, you will be better prepared to respond to a data breach if it occurs, and you may be able to prevent it from happening in the first place.
Since joining XPO in 2011 as CIO, Mario Harik has worked alongside founder Brad Jacobs to create a $7.7 billion business that has technology innovation in its DNA. Now he's running the show, thanks in part to a keen understanding of how IT can impact P&L.
With technology increasingly central to business value, CIOs stepping up to plus-size roles and even making the leap from CIO to CEO is no longer the rare feat it once was. Still, earning that corner office is an achievement few IT leaders can list among their career accomplishments.
As XPO's first CIO, Mario Harik played a key role in making the logistics company an industry leader and innovation powerhouse. Now, as XPO looks to capitalize on that foundation, Harik's deep understanding of both IT and the business has made him the perfect candidate to helm the company in its next phase, having become CEO and a member of the board last August.
Our world is hybrid and becoming increasingly digitized - a study from McKinsey suggests that the pandemic accelerated companies' adoption of digital or digitally enabled products by seven years.
The ability to connect with one another like never before is exciting, but those connections don't come without their challenges. For example, each new device communicating with the central network is a potential cybersecurity vulnerability, and replicating in-person collaboration among a remote workforce is daunting. Tasked with managing information flows, CIOs have a responsibility to address these challenges without sacrificing the employee experience.
Looking to do more with less in the coming months? Let these key transformation concepts guide your strategy
Since the onset of the pandemic, we've seen companies innovate at an unprecedented speed. Many of these advances have increased productivity while allowing teams to collaborate more seamlessly. Businesses that have been slow to make these shifts face a competitive disadvantage as they remain behind the tech curve.
The good news is it's not too late to embrace this new era. Here are three things to keep in mind as you level up your transformation in 2023.
The biggest dilemmas in running a modern cybersecurity team are not all about software, said CISOs from HSBC, Citi, and Sepio.
Managing risk on a global scale has always been challenging, but in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, CISOs have had to become even more agile. The shift to hybrid work, the rapid deployment of cloud applications, and the move to continuous integration and continuous development (CI/CD) have emboldened threat actors with new and broader targets.
Meanwhile, the number of devices and endpoints on organizations' networks has increased exponentially. Two veteran CISOs lamented the challenges that these changes have imposed during a webinar last week organized by Sepio, an asset detection and risk management startup.
As more companies strive to improve operations and enhance the customer experience, CIOs lead the charge to implement automation initiatives that work now, and strategies to ensure future success. Establishing the business case, however, is the first step.
By virtue of their position between IT and effecting business strategy, CIOs can identify what processes their organizations need in order to modernize and automate. When it comes to updating core systems to drive operational efficiencies, they also have to ensure that a sound business case exists to automate them, says Laurie Shotton, VP and analyst at Gartner. That's not surprising since CIOs typically own IT automation, as well as help drive business automation. But it's not always a given the two aren't working at cross purposes.
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