| | December 20188CIOReviewCIOS NEED TO KNOW THEIR BUSINESS-NOT JUST TECHBy John Sadowski, EVP & CIO, Sandy Spring Bank [SASR:NASDAQ]1. How would you describe the role of a CIO today in banks and other financial institutions?I describe the role of a banking CIO as being a business partner. What I mean is that today's CIO has to be able to understand and talk the language of business. We need to know about net interest margin, cross selling, revenue targets, and the client experience. Technology isn't just a support function now. It enables the business and helps drive revenue.2. How can the CIOs make their business counterparts think differently about the importance of Mobile Banking in Banks?Implicit in the question is that our business counterparts are not thinking differently, that many of them are reluctant to adopt mobile. But the truth is that probably most of them are highly receptive to mobile. Remember that today more than 60 percent of adults use mobile phone technology. We're doing news, weather, traffic, sports, Zillow, Waze on our phones. We're turning on lights at home with our phones and starting the car. We're using mobile for everything in our lives and people love it. Of course, with any new technology, there is usually some reluctance to adopt it initially. When ATM's first came out, there was some reluctance--some people had a fear of being shortchanged, for example. But once you adapt and see how easy it is, then adoption goes through the roof. Today I see our branches almost like Apple Genius Bars. When a client comes into a branch to deposit a check, we can help them do it on their phone. So, adoption is already there. We just have to show them how to do it, and we'll get a lot more adoption by our clients, both retail and business.3. Which growing or future technology innovation are you personally excited about?Near term, it's just furthering mobile adoption. But John SadowskiIN MY OPINION
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