| | April 20168CIOReviewNew Rules for Leading ITBy John Marcante, MD & CIO, Vanguard CIOs, more than at any time in the past, are facing a series of enduring trends which require them to expand their traditional competencies. Technology is the main catalyst for business disruption. Globalization is Integral to Almost Every BusinessThe need and opportunity for seamless global processes and technologies has never been greater as companies navigate new markets, cultures, products, laws, and regulations. IT must balance the need for efficient standardization with an ability to be nimble and meet local market needs. · Volatility within most industries has become a constant. Market volatility and regulatory uncertainty persist, and competition, from large global companies to small nimble startups is fierce. It is vital that technology teams deliver continuously, enable an entrepreneurial spirit, and create a platform for fast failure. · Technology continues to change and innovate at a staggering pace, providing opportunities for progressive companies to adopt new solutions that enable better client experiences, greater productivity, and stronger decision-making at significantly lower costs. Creatively adopting innovations has become a core competency for companies to win in this competitive, evolving world.· Cyber threats have evolved from historically unorganized, simplistic, and highly manageable attacks to well-organized, sophisticated, and persistent threats. As the world continues to become more interconnected, it is imperative that we deliver secure technology at startup speed. It's an "AND", not an "OR" when it comes to fast and safe.· The war for technical talent continues to rage. Becoming a "Best place to work" for top technical global talent is paramount to an IT organization's success.These forces are leading to an entirely new relationship between IT and business. Companies are thinking differently about the role of technology in delivering business value, and consequently CIOs are embarking on journeys to deliver that business value continuously. This journey requires much technical change-the implementation of Dev/Ops and technologies like cloud to speed and automate deployment, big data to improve decision-making. But that tends to be the easy stuff. In order to truly deliver business value at startup speed, we need to "fuse" together empowered teams from traditionally siloed organizations and focus them on solving problems and deliver business outcomes. Teams where disciplines disappear and full-stack teams emerge. Technology and process change is easy; cultural change is hard but necessary in order for organizations to adapt to a changing world.The game is changing for IT leaders, but they can be successful by adopting a few new rules of engagement.Champion Technology Acumen in the Business and Business Acumen in ITEvery executive needs to understand technology and its potential for their business, in addition to having the associated leadership skills. CIOs have a responsibility to help develop technology acumen in their business, and there are times when IT has to take the lead in adoption of technology to help the business envision the possibilities. It goes without saying that technology professionals must have solid technical skills and understanding, but IT also has to be passionate about the business and industry we are in, because when you combine those two competencies, you get fertile ground for innovation. Finally, adding in the right John MarcanteIn MyOpinion
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