For many CIOs, business transformation is less a priority but their primary focus. IDG’s 2020 State of the CIO report found that nearly half of CIOs now see themselves as transformational business leaders.
And this evolution comes at a good time. Rather than stalling digital transformation initiatives, the health, social, and economic crises of the past 12 months have pushed CIOs and their organizations to move quickly.
In late 2020, analyst group Gartner reported that seven out of 10 boards of directors had accelerated digital business initiatives in the wake of widespread COVID-19 disruption.
But CIOs and other like-minded technology leaders are also aware that driving this transformation involves more than just technology; it requires combining IT with people and processes to create a highly adaptable organization, driven by data to build stronger customer relationships and empower its teams.
This new business goal is what we call “The Living Enterprise”: a visionary, agile, future-focused organization that puts the employee and customer experience first. The Living Enterprise understands, in near real time, what its customers want and need. It uses that knowledge to enhance and personalize the customer journey, feeding in new insights from customer and business data at every stage. The Living Enterprise uses all the data available to the business to enhance every aspect of its operations, from supply chain to after-sales service, to make its employees more effective and ensure customer satisfaction.
Most of all, The Living Enterprise is designed to be agile and proactive. It both reacts to and anticipates changes in the market, while developing new capabilities that empower it to compete. Business is no longer about doing more and doing it faster, but about being able to pivot at scale and at speed.
This kind of transformation requires a transformational IT leader, one who not only delivers the technology behind The Living Enterprise but also drives through the organizational changes required. It means breaking down not only data silos but also departmental and cultural barriers. To do this, CIOs need a seat at the top table along with an understanding of the business at every level, aligning IT strategies with business strategies and efficient digital workflows. If the finishing line is The Living Enterprise, then it’s up to the senior IT executive to get the whole organization across it, whether that means leading from the front or, where necessary, pushing from the back.
CIOs have never been better placed for this demanding role. Organizations have been forced to accept rapid change and have concrete examples of why digital transformation matters.
CIOs have earned their place at the table by enabling business to continue in the toughest circumstances. And while it’s still unusual for a CIO to transition to a CEO role, an increasing number are managing it. CIOs are now business leaders too.
Yes, there will be challenges and questions going forward, but this eBook hopes to help CIOs meet and answer them. Along the way, it looks at how the partnership between Adobe and Microsoft is supporting real-life examples of The Living Enterprise today, uniting data, content, and processes, so that organizations can transform their business and deliver a next-level customer experience.
Listen to The Living Enterprise podcast series to understand the philosophy, and the CIO’s role within business change.
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