Sunday, October 19, 2014

An IT Friendly Board

11:37 PM  Pearl Zhu  No comments

An IT-friendly board shall change the perspective to understand the power of information and the potential of technology.

 More and more CIOs are having the chance to become the corporate board member, such opportunity helps CIOs to think and look beyond just technology work only. It also helps the Board be more technology savvy and data-oriented, to oversight business strategy and governing execution with insight and foresight.

The IT-friendly Board presents the spirit of collaboration: It is imperative for Business and IT having a collaborative strategy around the application of IT to deliver on business accuracy, scale, and governance, it is at the heart of that mantra regardless of industry and business size. Of course, sustaining and moving forward on those three pillars takes a strong focus on the processes to manage and analyze digital information that in turn provides specific end-user insights and services.

Aspiring CIOs like to contribute to the Board, and the digital Board needs a technology visionary CIO: There is the need for CIOs to evolve business skills and become conversant with the mantra of business leaders. Being a board member could be the most effective way to broaden the horizon; CIOs have to connect with business leaders and influence them. In return, CIOs could also gain deeper business insights and help their leadership in the long run. And as a Board member, one of the fundamental accountability is ensuring the organization acts in accordance with the relevant regulations. Second, phrase your contribution, or potential contribution, in the "triple bottom line" of economic, social and environmental ramifications of the organization's activities. These points can help confirm that the "IT" contribution is not constrained or limited to technology only, it shall optimize business process and build business capability.

The Board needs CIOs to envision overarching digital transformation, and CIOs can bring value and direction to the board.  In the digital world with enormous transformations, more often, technology is the disruptive force or game changer, companies with a digital strategy driven by the CIOs at a board level can better weave digital into every fabric of business and bring different perspectives on governance and risk intelligence; and as a CIO, If you're not on the board or you can't influence the board then you are not the CIO of today or the future. CIOs need to bring thought and vision to the table. It is not enough for the CIO to provide solutions or worry about uptime. CIOs need to bring value and direction, to be able to challenge and reinforce the overall company direction and strategy and ensure business running in agility.

An IT-friendly board should change the perspective to understand the power of information and the potential of technology. And the aspiring CIOs need to learn the business side simply by understanding your technology. This will expose you to all active business processes, all participants, and all challenges. You can then apply your technical expertise to propose solutions and put your foot on the board's site, and help build a modern board with the digital theme of abundant information & disruptive innovation.

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