Last week’s CIO Forum put on by Forrester brought together more than 500 CIOs and enterprise architects looking to understand the opportunity to evolve with workers growing expectations, and to overcome common challenges.
While there were a lot of interesting forums and discussions, three things stood out.
1) The more things change, the more they stay the same
While CIOs are faced with a very dynamic and changing landscape, the top two focus areas mentioned by attendees have NOT changed for several years:
- How to increase information security and minimize risk—particularly in light of the massive growth in mobile device use, and apps that let you share files online
- How to increase IT’s capacity to innovate, not just manage workflows
Nearly 79% of business decision makers say they rely on IT for business innovation and success. However, nearly half (49%) feel that IT is their own worst enemy by being way too bureaucratic and, in turn, stifling the creativity and innovation needed to take their business to the next level. In fact, 11% of those CIOs seeking innovative solutions to grow their business actually bypass IT altogether.
Forrester encouraged CIOs to focus on three things: innovation, strategy and governance. It's not the strongest fortress that survives, but the one that can respond most quickly to changing threats.
3) Mobile is about Service
The most valuable apps provide the right information in your moment of need. If businesses are not thinking this way now, they run the risk of being left behind. Mobile was a key theme of the CIO Forum, and we will explore this topic in further detail in our next post, so stay tuned.
