Digital transformation checklist for CIOs and engineers

According to Genpact research, 76% of Australian chief information officers (CIOs) believe their CIO organisation is not completely prepared to help their companies withstand another major business disruption.

Despite this, just over half (54%) agree strongly that they are well-positioned to support company growth after the pandemic.

The findings are based on responses from 500 global CIOs and technology leaders, 50 of whom are in Australia. The research, conducted by Genpact in partnership with the MIT Sloan CIO Symposium, reveals three distinct roles — pilots, co-pilots and engineers — with varying levels of influence over guiding change in their companies.

In Australia, 24% of CIOs are pilots, leading the way and driving the transformation journey strategically across core business functions. The largest cohort, 56%, are co-pilots partnering with business leaders to shape and deliver transformation. 20% are the engineers, simply executing but not driving transformation.

“Our global study validates what we’re seeing across our clients. As the power of the cloud, data and AI redefine the future of work, the CIO role is evolving exponentially but not equally,” said Sanjay Srivastava, Chief Digital Officer at Genpact.

The report features a checklist for CIO leaders and engineers on how to lead digital transformation.

Checklist for co-pilots

• Talent: Improve business and change management skills, continue building advanced architecture and cloud-first skills.
• Transformation: Unite business and technology strategy, invest in change management capabilities, and free up time to explore emerging technologies.
• Business platforms: Pick one or two unique business platforms that will differentiate your organisation and focus on creating and enabling them.
• Architecture modernisation: Adopt a cloud-first approach with a clear roadmap to slim-core architecture.
• Data: Champion data literacy and focus on building a certified data foundation across critical value chains.
• AI and ML: Continue to build capabilities and use cases for AI and ML adoption and develop a centre of excellence if you don’t already have one.
• Legacy: Educate your C-suite and business leaders on why legacy technology is a necessary evil but minimise technical debt where you can.

Checklist for engineers

• Talent: Add cloud and business skills to the team and upskill talent on an ongoing basis.
• Transformation: Create a handful of transformation driver roles and remove roadblocks so they can drive change within the organisation.
• Business platforms: Challenge existing business platforms and propose new ones while creating a practical path to establish them.
• Architecture modernisation: Adopt a cloud-first approach with a clear roadmap to slim-core architecture.
• Data: Build a certified data foundation and deliver results through analytics.
• Analytics: Own strategic and operational analytics platforms, don’t just be the suppliers of certified data — usage can always be democratised.
• Legacy: Make some hard decisions about legacy architecture and adopt cloud as a priority.
   

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/tippapatt