| | NOVEMBER 20178CIOReviewBy Scott Dennull, Senior Director of IT, AtriCureSPEAKING THE BUSINESS LANGUAGEWhat are some of the widely prevalent challenges you notice in the IT sector and how exactly can IT leaders overcome these challenges?I would say that the biggest challenge we have is the amount of time spent on support versus new projects. The smaller your team, the less likely you're going to have a total separation of these two functions. When you only have two people responsible for storage, servers, and, networks, it's hard for you to keep the business running and keep up with the demands of the business when it comes to new functionality and value-added solutions.IT leaders are required to speak the business language nowadays. They are now an active part of boardroom discussions, and they need to align themselves with business objectives and IT priorities. How exactly are IT leaders required to speak the business language and what is the kind of alignment required?The biggest challenge is that the IT teams today are not only speaking the business but also getting into the depths of it. For example, if you're speaking to a financial person, say a CFO, you can talk more dollars and cost savings. When you're talking to the manufacturing VP and other executives, you need to talk with metrics, numbers, and visibility. You need to learn how to speak in their vernacular. So, it's not only speaking the business but you need to understand the details of the business sectors that you serve.IN MY OPINION
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