Richard Smith, Senior Vice President – Technology, EMEA, Oracle, looks at the biggest questions currently facing CIOs.
2020 is here and for the CIOs I met recently in Dubai (at OpenWorld), the turning of the decade is an excellent opportunity to refresh, refocus, and reinvent their grandest enterprise visions. It’s also rife with big challenges – from harnessing emerging technologies to shoring up enterprise security-they have a lot to handle in order to get there.
What follows is my understanding of their biggest questions for this fiscal.
- How can we empower everyone to be tech masters (wizards, even)? How can we give everyone the ability to create new value (now available) from new technology by removing constraints and embracing new ways of thinking?
- What pragmatic digital strategies can we deploy to drive value for customers and stakeholders? How can we stay relevant in a world where markets are literally changing around us?
- Are we enabling practical and powerful automation everywhere to transform customer experiences? What can we do to unlock the potential of data and use it as a strategic asset or weapon?
- Can we harness the value of fast-moving technology, while anticipating its negative ripple effects? Do we have the frameworks in place to address ethical challenges through a foundation of trust, transparency and accountability?
- What will it take to manage cybersecurity as enterprise technology becomes more connected and distributed? How can we push security further in combatting threats while embracing the world of 5G, IoT, Cloud and AI?
- How can we create technology platforms that are open to other parts of our business to innovate on and benefit from? Are we keeping a keen eye over our shoulder at rising platforms, new digital intermediaries and asymmetric competitors looking to replace our business in a digital world?
- How can we unite the emergent transformers – such as AI, IoT, 5G, and automation-to move ahead? How can we focus on emergent technology while creating real value, earning wins and building on our capabilities?
- Are we able to integrate the business while staying flexible? What can we do to achieve this without stifling innovation, new ideas or the ability to embrace new technology?
At the core, these questions are about using technology to define new ways to deliver value for customers, outpace the competition, power up with data and innovate with impact across the business. CIOs therefore have a significant role to play in unlocking the opportunity and it’s my mission and passion to help CIOs turn their bold visions into new realities.
Here’s to 2020 and the opportunities to shape the way ahead.
