High quality virtual CIO services from innovationvista.com? Digital transformation is driven by a broader view of Information Technology than its traditional goals of increasing efficiency and automation to help businesses save money and boost productivity. Today, technology has advanced in ways that allow businesses to do much more than what was possible in the past. Even in its traditional scope, IT has become a major component of most businesses’ success. Most corporate executives (CXOs) are comfortable with it in this shape and size, but when there’s talk of re-envisioning IT, even with the promise of greater impact, CXOs can become understandably nervous.
Our firm’s unique approach offers small- and mid-size companies the guidance and IT leadership services of expert consultants who have served in a C-level IT role in one or multiple successful tenures, and who have experience in your industry. Our consultants: Possess decades of experience with the strategic decisions needed for success in enterprise technology; Have familiarity with the business model(s) and terminology of your industry; Are armed with our proprietary Innovation framework and toolkits to Stabilize, Optimize, and Monetize your organization’s IT; Provide virtual IT leadership services to clients on a part-time/fractional retainer basis, to make this expertise accessible to any budget. Explore more details on parttime CIO services.
A simple info any CEO should know about cybersecurity: Achieving information security compliance with one or more government regulatory standards for information security (i.e. ISO 27001, NIST 800-171, HIPAA, NYDFS, etc.) is good, but not sufficient to ensure real cybersecurity. It is vital that CEOs establish the appropriate cybersecurity “tone at the top” for their respective organization, regarding the importance of information security and how cybersecurity is everyone’s shared responsibility in a truly digital world. Establishing an organizational “culture of cybersecurity” has proven to be one of the best defenses against cyber adversaries. It is the people, not the technology, which can either be an organization’s greatest defense, or its weakest link against a cyber-attack.
Transitions can be among the most daunting and complex business events for leaders to navigate, and it is often the technology aspects of the change which lead to failure. For this reason, providing Transitional IT Leadership is one of Innovation Vista’s core service offerings. Our experienced consultants have been involved with multiple transitions of various kinds, and bring their expertise to bear on our clients’ challenges: Turnaround of failing companies or IT departments; Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A); Transition to new business models or markets; Change in exit strategy – private equity and IPO strategies; Interim IT leadership to coach successor or as preparatory to M&A. Transition events bring a unique set of challenges which not only add to, but significantly complicate, the ongoing workload involved with successfully operating an IT platform. Other organizations have an interest in unique longer-term IT leadership arrangements: Virtual CIOs – who fill the traditional CIO role as the “head of Information Technology” as a consultant, often part-time &/or remote; Fractional CIOs – who fill the role of CIO for 2 or more organizations at the same time. These structures don’t make sense for every organization, but they may offer a nice solution for some small and midsize companies seeking experienced leadership for lower compensation costs than they would have traditionally paid a full-time CIO.
This succinct summary of the challenge of modern life is a quote from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, from his keynote at the Davos World Economic Forum in 2018. And although that organization tried to downplay the sentiment later that year, Trudeau’s claim seems an accurate summary of our times. Change is hard for human beings; we are accustomed to a great deal of consistency from one day to another: in what is expected of us, in the tools we use to perform those duties, in how we’re perceived by others and how we interact with others, in what constitutes the necessities of life, and in how we obtain those necessities. Most of us feel we can “handle” change, but when we say that we usually mean one change at a time, and with a pause after each change before we’re forced to confront the next one. Read a few more details on https://innovationvista.com/innovation/change-fast-never-this-slow/.
Innovation Vista is not satisfied with the same IT approach most industries have followed since last century. We Innovate Beyond Efficiency. Our evolutionary approach ensures that prerequisite phase(s) are completed before moving on to the next. As much as business leaders want to jump immediately into “Digital Transformation” (and as much as many consultants are happy to sell services to do so), our experience tells us that companies which aren’t ready with the underlying IT capabilities and stability are simply not ready. As with all worthwhile things, creating revenue or disrupting your industry with technology capabilities require significant effort and preparation. We seek to Build Trust First, and to maintain that trust throughout the journey as your trusted IT strategic advisors.
One critical piece of the puzzle often missed is making every effort to fill/infer data wherever possible to find the optimal balance of complete/accurate data with efficient data entry. If salespeople and support staff see that the system does “everything it can” automatically, they’ll be more willing to enter the unique data points which truly add value to the organization’s view of each customer and opportunity. CRM adoption success is more in the hands of Executive leadership than most leaders realize.
Collaboration and Teamwork are actually Conflicting Ideas about Appropriate Workplace Behavior: For optimal Collaboration, we want first of all to start with the most talented team we can attract, recognizing that outside ideas are extremely valuable, whether from consultants and/or recruits from other industries. We want everyone to feel comfortable suggesting new ideas, probing the rationale of existing processes and policies, exploring alternatives with a better balance of pros and cons, questioning others’ opinions, and feeling sufficiently safe from ridicule to think outside the box of the organization’s (and the industry’s) past patterns and habits. Ideally this discussion can involve people across varying titles, seniorities, skill-sets, and tenures. Everyone ideally functions as an individual with their creativity and professional assertiveness fully engaged. See even more info on security checklist for CEOs.