The 4 most important questions CIOs should be asking today

Although chief information officers have been at the forefront of enterprise digital transformation efforts for years, they are still too often reduced to the company’s "technology expert." Even if the reality is different, perception counts for a lot. It’s now time for CIOs to change that perception and evolve into more wide-ranging business strategists, enabling their IT departments to leverage their expertise for high-value business outcomes.

The good news is that most enterprise CIOs already have nimble, intelligent and scalable technology to facilitate that change. What’s needed is an approach that improves efficiency and increases productivity in ways that are directly tied to company goals. Here are four questions every CIO of a B2B enterprise should be asking as they seek to maintain the momentum of their digital transformation.

How can we put our data to work for our business?

Like the famous quote about the future already being here, but just not evenly distributed, companies don’t have to worry about having enough data, but they should be concerned about how to use it to create value for the business.

Some common errors include creating data-driven approaches for portions of the organization without a strategy or funding to repurpose them widely or, on the other end of the spectrum, attempting to meet the needs of everyone in the company who might use the data and ending up with a snarl of customized systems.

Organizations must treat data as their most valuable business asset, beginning with a strategy on how it will be used and who will be responsible for it. And while IT departments may not be the primary user of company data, they should be central to the processes and infrastructure around it.

Do we need a data governance policy?

The simple answer is a clear "yes." Having the proper discipline and process around the data you collect internally and externally is critical. Also, remember that any policy enacted isn’t just a tech policy -- it’s a shared responsibility throughout the organization, designed to create value and manage risk.

Whether enterprises are creating a new data governance policy or making updates to an existing one, there are a few rules that will make the process smoother and more productive:

• Start with "why": Data governance is like any other change management process -- the most important step is to communicate the value and goals of the process and get everyone to buy in, especially executives.
• Give everyone a seat at the table: To reinforce that this isn’t an IT-only project, get all departments and business units involved with assigned roles and responsibilities.
• Demonstrate the business value: By tying the KPIs of the data governance process to tangible business benefits, everyone can see how their decisions affect the health of the business. This “what’s in it for me” approach ensures continued engagement.
• Let IT do what it does best: Keep the IT team focused on defining systems and processes around securely storing and accessing the data. 

Are our legacy systems holding us back?

Today’s ERP systems are so tightly integrated with nearly every business process, making it difficult for companies to imagine what it would take to modernize them. The prospect of starting from scratch (or perhaps worse, enduring a lengthy professional services engagement) is almost too much for most leaders to bear.

At the same time, those legacy systems are straining under the demands of today’s digital commerce world. Essential functions such as price optimization and management were never core strengths of any ERP, yet the need to update pricing quickly across channels has never been greater. Today’s volatile markets and supply-chain challenges are putting an even heavier burden on internal systems.

It’s time to take a long, hard, objective look at the platforms and applications that form the backbone of your organization’s commercial strategy. There are options that won’t hobble existing systems and that add pricing engines alongside ERP, CPQ, CRM, eCommerce and any other commercial execution system without disrupting their existing functionality. 

How can we best incorporate a new piece of functional software?

New is not always better, so CIOs must ensure that the entire organization understands how a new piece of software will interact with existing technologies. While the sales department can see the advantages of a new CPQ system that will streamline the work of their reps, they may not foresee how that CPQ will retrieve data from the pricing system of record. Will it be embedded in the existing CRM, or are there integration concerns? These questions need to be answered early before they create a domino effect of problems. 

It’s also important to consider how new technology might affect the experience of your end customer. Will the experience be a positive one, regardless of whether someone talks to an agent, buys in person or visits your website? A strong omnichannel experience lays the foundation for retaining and growing customer relationships.

Today’s CIOs have an unprecedented responsibility (and opportunity!) to chart the destiny of their enterprise. Asking the right questions and crafting successful digital initiatives can often mean the difference between financial success and failure.

Image credit: Panchenko Vladimir / Shutterstock

Mark Kizer leads Zilliant's engineering team as senior vice president of engineering, managing the development of the company’s innovative and scalable software products and overseeing the delivery operations in data centers globally. He has over twenty years of experience in enterprise and SaaS software engineering. Mark first joined Zilliant in 2007 as a senior software engineer and held many titles at Zilliant before becoming vice president of engineering in 2016. Prior to Zilliant, Mark was a staff software engineer at Vignette, a technology company that helped companies power their business-critical web and e-business solutions. While there, he led numerous software development efforts for Vignette’s Packaged Applications and Portal products.