Charlie Wood, CEO, Wiise, on where he thinks the CIO role is headed over 2024
APAC businesses will face an interesting 2024: a volatile year that will offer opportunities and risks.
A slew of advanced technology is set to transform many industries, with generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) continuing its widespread disruption.
After a challenging few years of pandemic disruption and global instability, supply chains are finally getting more transparent and tech-driven.
Given how critical a robust, agile supply chain is for business success, CIOs will be tasked with making this a key area of investment.
Advanced ERP solutions based on AI and blockchain will help make complex networks much more transparent and resilient. The axe will fall on legacy, inadequate systems are now a serious business liability.
As such, operations and processes formerly the domain of the COO will increasingly enter the CIO’s sphere.
Intelligent warehousing will become a core IT strategy, with warehouses becoming mobile and agile.
Mobility is no longer a luxury but the lifeblood of modern warehousing and inventory operations.
Warehouses, which play a crucial role in supply chain, bridging the gap between production and distribution, are essential to customer service and profitability.
Real-time data is critical as automation and robotics increase.
Another key area of focus for CIOs in 2024 will be cloud confluence as various technologies and services converge and integrate.
The cloud isn’t just a data haven: it’s the crucible where modern business strategies are forged.
Gartner foresees industry cloud platforms addressing industry-relevant outcomes by combining software, platform and infrastructure-as-a-service with composable capabilities.
Data inundation has been a headache for many organisations in the region. Collecting vast amounts of data is easy, but storing, sorting and processing it remains challenging. To be useful, data needs precision – with real-time analytics and insightful data processing.
CIOs will be at the forefront of dealing with escalating cyber risk.
A new buzzword is CTEM: continuous threat exposure management, with the constant adjustment of cybersecurity protocols. 80% of CIOs plan to increase cyber/information security investment in 2024.
Cloud-based solutions will be key here, providing the levels of data privacy compliance and security that are now increasingly a legal requirement in Asian markets and beyond.
GenAI will be the creative catalyst for unprecedented innovation, transformation and accelerated productivity. Data no longer merely informs but inspires, leading to innovative product designs, optimised operational models and personalised customer experiences.
CIOs must be at the helm, ensuring that organisations take maximum advantage while remaining ethically and legally compliant. GenAI is already becoming democratised and put into the hands of the public: technology formerly only available to the big end of town is now accessible to the smallest businesses. Everyone across an organisation can now take advantage. Training in safe and appropriate use will be paramount.
Success in 2024 will be defined not by riding the tech wave but being the tech wave. GenAI, analytics, smart cloud solutions and mobility are taking us into a realm of continuous innovation and creativity.
