Top four priorities for CIOs in 2015

With half of the year now gone (yes, really!) it’s well worth taking stock of what is still to be achieved in the remaining months of 2015. Every person in an organization will have mapped out goals for this calendar year – and these must be monitored while there is time left to address any issues that have cropped up so far. For a CIO, reacting to an ever-changing world in which priorities reflect technological developments should mean that analysing performance and reacting to circumstances comes as a second nature. 

So what will they be looking at – and addressing – in the second half of 2015?

Windows 10

Microsoft’s new operating system is launched on July 29 and – as the most senior person responsible for IT in an organisation – CIOs will be taking a close look at what this might mean for their businesses. When it comes to technology, no organization can allow others to steal a march and get ahead, but they also need to weigh up if and when it makes sense for them to migrate. CIOs will be investigating the quickest ways to migrate and whether they are right for their organizations. Firms such as 1E are able to make this process much smoother than it once was – ensuring a ‘business as usual’ operation while upgrades are carried out.

Data

The data businesses collect on their operations and customers is a highly valuable commodity and the CIO should always be striving for greater ways to maximise the use of this. Much progress has been made but a CIO should be striving to go further – using the first half of 2015 as a launch pad for further progress. As IT World points out, data must look at not only what a customer does but also why. It must then help drive forward new innovations and shape better business models.

BYOD

The Apple Watch launched on April 24 and, predictably, proved popular with consumers. While wearable tech has been around for a number of years, a flagship product such as this can ensure the phenomenon becomes much more widely entrenched. The impact of wearables on business and CIOs shouldn’t be lost either. In recent years ‘bring your own device’ or BYOD has really taken off, with employees keen to utilise their own kit in the workplace. 

In some respects this is admirable as it means an organisation benefits from the latest technology and allows employees to use products they are comfortable with. It does bring its own challenges too, however, with IT departments needing to ensure they keep track of security across a range of devices. 

Wearables make ‘BYOD’ much easier – with devices such as the Apple Watch allowing employees to discreetly check notifications and messages wherever they are and keep up to speed with meetings and emails. The pressure is on CIOs to manage BYOD in a way that ensures they can build wearables into the workplace. 

CRM

Customer relationship management – or CRM – should always be toward the top of the list of priorities for a business and a CIO. The smart CIO knows that their input is not purely in terms of installing and overseeing a system but is about creating a long-term structure that allows the company to interact with and learn from its customer base. 

In a similar way to the data priorities outlined earlier, this is about not treating IT in isolation – but as something that underpins important aspects of an organisation and unlocks better working practices going forward. Whatever CRM a company uses, the CIO should be at the heart of looking for ways to enhance this.