| | June 20168CIOReviewChallenge in Technology I believe that the biggest technology challenges in the hospi-tality industry revolve around mobility, guest connectivity, and cloud based services. As for mobility, the user commu-nity is really starting to demand the ability to have access to technology services using mobile devices throughout the facilities. Having the proper infrastructure to support these new technology requirements has been difficult for many hospitality CIO's to support (including me at Xanterra) yet the need and demand continue to grow. Secondly, the ever-growing need for guest Internet and connectivity from within the hospitality environment continues to expand yet guests are insisting that these services be provided at no costs. Jus-tifying this growth in bandwidth continues to be a challenge. Lastly, I feel that most hospitality companies would like to use more cloud based services but struggle with both the costs and the inherent limitations which exist in the cloud model. CIO's have to learn how to implement these platforms in a manner which is both cost effective yet still have the func-tionality and effectiveness demanded by their user base. 360 Degree ApproachWhile many companies have focused on CRM-type platforms in an attempt to gain this 360 degree view of the customer, I feel many have rushed into this project with minimal planning and without first developing the proper vision as to what they are trying to accomplish. While I believe that the CRM and 360 degree approach can be very valuable and that many hos-pitality (and other) organizations have been able to leverage it successfully, I feel that without proper management guidance, business requirements definition and strategic planning, that many organizations are not getting the maximum benefit they would get from these types of investments.Evolving from an Implementer of Business Initiatives to Trusted Consultant for Travel and Hospitality By John Wimmer, CIO, Xanterra Parks & ResortsIN MY OPINIONJohn Wimmer
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