THE CIOS CHALLENGING

CROSSROADS
Anticipating and Embracing the Changing Role of Chief Information Officer

Digital technology continues to assume a larger, more important role

in the modern connected enterprise, and as a result, the leaders of
these organizations are now being forced to re-evaluate the role of
the Chief Information Officer (CIO). This re-evaluation comes in the
midst of the realization that if technology has become a key factor
in the success of a large portion of todays businesses, the person
driving that technology should assume a more prominent role in the
companys long term management and business objectives. What
would appear to be a simple and logical shift has not consequently
occurred, however, and many CIOs have yet to assume the authority
and attention they deserve.

THE DIGITAL REVOLUTION AND THE CIO

Organizations seem to be embracing various manifestos of a digital
revolution, but many have failed to rally around a resolute leader. This
is where the CIO needs to step up and take the helm of technology
governance. Though many obstacles exist, it is clear that CIOs must
assert themselves as vital strategic contributors and evangelize
the impact that technology can have on the overall success of the
company. This means that they need to effectively articulate their
role in guiding technological implementations at various levels and
commitments within an enterprise. To successfully argue these
points, CIOs must show hard evidence of ITs ability to enhance

CIO Insight, How Shadow IT Transformed the Role of the CIO, 2015

NEW DIRECTION
85% of CIOs and other senior IT
decision-makers surveyed said the
traditional role of the CIO is changing.1

THE CIOS CHALLENGING CROSSROADS

organizational efficiency and performance. As Gartner succinctly

states, The CIO should know how performance is measured in
the enterprise and which performance (operational and financial)
matters most. Every conversation must begin and end with that
performance.2
Gartner defines a Chief Information Officer as The person
responsible for planning, choosing, buying and installing a companys
computer and information-processing operation. They oversee
the development of corporate standards, technology architecture,
technology evaluation and transfer; sponsor the business technology
planning process; manage client relations; align IT with the business;
and develop IT financial management systems.3

CIOs have the opportunity to

transform from keeper of the
technology into a true Chief
of Information, now managing
data as a company asset, just
as the CFO manages company
finances.

Historically, the role of CIO remained highly centralized, enforcing a

linear approach to technology and personnel management. According
to Tom Fisher, Senior Vice President and Global Commercial CIO
at Oracle, For decades, the CIO was the purchaser of hardware
and software; the overseer of its implementation, maintenance,
and security. He or she was the keeper of the data center, the
person behind the curtain who was ultimately responsible for
making everything work.4 CIOs were also previously referred to as
data-processing managers; and then as management information
system (MIS) directors. Consequently, within the business context,
the concepts of data processing, computing, and even information
have evolved to assume broader, more complex connotations. For
example, according to entrepreneur.com, information technology is
A term that encompasses all forms of technology used to create,
store, exchange and utilize information in its various forms including
business data, conversations, still images, motion pictures and
multimedia presentations.5 Today, the CIO is not only responsible
for this wide-ranging definition of information technology, but for
the efficient functioning of computerized systems and the roadmap
and strategy for all information technology as it relates to the
organizations ultimate innovation and success.
2
3
4
5

Solanki, S. 2015 CEO Survey: CFOs Tie Tech to Growth, but Downplay the CIOs Role, (Gartner), April 2015
Gartner IT Glossary Online, http://www.gartner.com/it-glossary/cio-chief-information-officer
Fisher, Tom. The CIO as Chief Innovation Officer: How Cloud is Changing the CIO Role, (Oracle), 2014
Small Business Encyclopedia, http://www.entrepreneur.com/encyclopedia/information-technology

Tom Fisher,
Sr. Vice President and Global
Commercial CIO, Oracle

THE CIOS CHALLENGING CROSSROADS

POISED AT THE CROSSROADS

The role of CIO seems poised at a crossroads right now; in many
cases decentralization dictates the CIOs management approach to
adopting consumerized aspects of IT in order to reduce costs and
streamline IT-related activities, explains Al Subbloie, president &
CEO of Tangoe. He further states, This brings tremendous pressure
because if the CIO is not promoting change or is perceived as too
slow and not in-tune with the latest technology, he or she experiences
a drastic drop in perceived value to the organization.

Shifting customer demands: 96%

Greater need for innovation/creativity: 95%
Increasingly complex policies/procedures: 95%
Significant growth of data coming into and distributed
throughout organization: 95%
Employee' need for organization data when outside
the office: 95%1

Consistent with Subbloies assertion, Tangoe experts have also

observed that CIOs find themselves in a problematic situation
considering how difficult and time-consuming it can be to update
their processes and personnel. Many CIOs may still be caught in
a stack environment that is configured for big investment. This is
further compounded by a common stay-the-course mentality. With
the rapidly changing technologies of cloud and mobile, most CIOs
are feeling the pressure and struggling to become more relevant; but
things are beginning to change.

THE CIOS CHALLENGING CROSSROADS

THE AGE OF CIO EMPOWERMENT

Despite the CIOs clearly vital role in the ultimate success of an
enterprise, Gartners April 2015 report implies that these innovative
leaders do not always wield significant influence in the upper
echelons of the corporate hierarchy.2 Though many organizations
revealed that they have shifted from cost management to pursue
more technology investments, only 16% of CFOs regarded CIOs
as among the top officers with whom they would work to achieve
critical business objectives and strategic goals.
But if the current role of CIO is at a significant technological and
hierarchical intersection, it might be directly related to the common
perception by CFOs that IT teams lack the ability to meet upcoming
challenges and that they have not forged ahead enough into longterm strategy and planning concepts to demonstrate the value of
large IT investments. Interestingly, the same CFOs polled in that
study indicated that they had recently increased their investment in
technology by an impressive 9%, while decreasing their spending on
cost management by 15%. It seems clear that CIOs need to assume
more executive clout within an organization to promote success
through IT development.

INCREASING CIO VISIBILITY

In light of this discord between investment and management power,
CIOs need to increase their profile and exhibit leadership skills
equal to their knowledge of key technologies. They have to act
as technology stewards to usher in new strategies pertaining to
purchasing IT devices, services, and infrastructure. In addition, they
need to leverage knowledge of IT to bridge departments together and
merge their diverse technologies in a manner that has a direct impact
on an organizations bottom line. By reducing incongruent methods
of communicating and processing data between departments, CIOs
can drive a meaningful decision-making dialogue between other
executives of their respective organizations. In order to accomplish
this, however, they must be supported by detailed and robust
business analytics that adapt to the very emerging technologies they

The role of CIO seems poised

at a crossroads right now; in
many cases decentralization
dictates the CIO's management
approach to adopting
consumerized aspects of IT
in order to reduce costs and
streamline IT-related activities.

Al Subbloie,
president & CEO, Tangoe

THE CIOS CHALLENGING CROSSROADS

strive to promote within the enterprise. CIOs also need to strike a

balance between working to keep the lights on and moving the
business forward through innovation. A smart CIO will find a way to
do both.

CLOUD COMPUTING: JUST ONE REASON THE CIO IS

CRITICAL TO SUCCESS
According to Gartner, The simple fact is this: the emergence of
cloud has fundamentally changed the role of the CIO; obsoleting
job descriptions, altering organizational structures, and changing
the benchmarks of success.2 As we have witnessed in the last
few years, cloud computing has rapidly emerged as an essential
technology for achieving economies of scale, reducing spending,
globalizing work forces, improving accessibility, and streamlining
processes. Consequently, enterprises face numerous choices and
challenges regarding cloud computing implementation and adoption.
Across a wide array of industries, enterprises increasingly look to
cloud-based solutions to meet their unique and diverse needs. And
the person who should be spearheading the mission to implement
these cloud solutions is the CIO. The improved agility brought on by
extensive cloud implementations will decrease the time-to-market
while enabling new opportunities for revenue generating innovation.
The CIO who controls the cloud wields considerable influence within
an enterprise.
Because cloud holds such a vital position in many of the worlds
organizations, it proves to be a perfect example of how CIOs have
an excellent opportunity to emphasize the importance of their role.
By enlisting the help of third party services such as Tangoe, CIOs
can lead the charge by establishing an objective assessment of their
cloud environment and receive expert advice on how to better utilize
the formidable power of the cloud. CIOs can benefit from Tangoes
established experience and expertise to reduce the complexity of
implementing a cloud solution, creating a clear transformational plan
for the people, processes, and technology involved.

GAME-CHANGERS
Two-thirds of CIOs polled said that
trends within mobility and unified
communications provide to them a
critical way to deliver real business
results, while 64% cite the cloud.1

THE CIOS CHALLENGING CROSSROADS

By working closely with Tangoes industry-leading experts to set

specific goals and parameters to help drive savings, flexibility,
security, and ensure industry compliance, CIOs and their teams
have the opportunity to bring more value to the overall success of
the company, advising business leaders at a more strategic level.
From here, CIOs must present this information to members of the
executive team, thereby demonstrating a clear leadership initiative
to drive greater success within the organization as the ultimate
objective.

ANTICIPATING THE CIO EVOLUTION

Since its inception, Tangoe has been designing and building
technology in anticipation of this dramatic CIO revolution. We
identified early on that the unrelenting progression of telecom and IT
expense demand would require tools of considerable magnitude to
empower IT teams and their CIO to assume their warranted functional
and operational importance within organizations.
Our tools and services can deliver infrastructure, systems process
support, security, and indispensable data to help the modern
CIO govern IT resources reduce expenses, increase security, and
improve service. This is achieved through Matrix, a single solution
comprised of a robust software platform and related services that
deliver a broad range of critical capabilities required to manage the
assets, expense, usage, and analytics of an organizations key IT
processes and connections. Additionally, the Matrix platform delivers
resourceful integration tools that link into an enterprises supplier
ecosystem, providing intuitive utilities for administration, security,
policy management, configuration, workflows, and events. The end
result is an empowered CIO and skilled team of IT professionals that
can deliver a seamless end user experience that is portable across
devices, including PCs, tablets, and smartphones.

For more information on Tangoe products and services, please visit

us at www.tangoe.com

35 Executive Boulevard, Orange, CT 06477 | www.tangoe.com

POWER MOVE
59% said the overall standing of
the CIO within the boardroom has
emerged as more central within the
last two years.1