Do You Know What CIOs Are Struggling With Right Now?

IT Doesn’t…

What would it be worth if you knew something really important, that your IT clients don’t know?

It might lead to that coveted Trusted Advisor status – if you presented it right.

I opened Thursday’s session at SecureWorld Charlotte with  “The One Big Mistake Companies Are Making w/ SECURITY”. My session was packed! Standing room only. and a wall full of stand-ups…

I guess people heard me telling funny stories and decided to wonder in from the hall. After all, even technology sessions should be fun to listen to.

But here’s the surprising fact.  After assessing who was in my audience (mostly F500 company IT people), I asked for input on the CIOs role in 2016. No one had the right answers!  No One!  I did get generic answers like, Security.  And yes, Gartner and The Wall Street Journal are reporting this.  But it’s old news, and only one person in the room raised their hand when I asked who is reading the CIO Journal Section.

No wonder IT has a hard time convincing their leadership to do the right thing. Even when selling internally, good marketing starts “where people are” and takes them “where they need to go.”

Given the walls that exist between IT and executive management, event a great marketer will rarely be heard.

One thing everyone did agree on – their end users are heading toward More IoT, More Cloud, and More BYOD…even those companies that claim to not be doing BYOD, are.  People are going to use their phones for email regardless of what the company does. Even if they have to use their gmail account – Ref. Ms. Clinton.

So what are CIOs doing in 2016:

• More interaction with the Board.
• More involvement in company strategy – because it all hinges on using technology.
• Finding ways to leverage IoT, Cloud, Big Data, and Social Business – to achieve better customer experience / competitive advantage (Think Amazon vs. Walmart). And remember Walmart is big on technology – but their customer experience is miserable.
• More focus on security…  (Have your read recent reports on Target’s failure to expand into Canada – blamed on IT mishaps!)

But Also Take Note – IT Budgets and Security are a Challenge:

• IT spending is down 5.88% as of Q4, 2015!
• IoT spending is up and growing!
• Compliance will continue to grow and demand more budget – but won’t make things more secure (in most cases).
• Security talent is growing scarce. Only the very large companies will have real security talent…the rest will work for consulting companies. (Meaning the mid and small market needs it from a third-party source.)

Lots to think about in 2016!  If you have security answers – this could be a great year for you and your company.

© 2016, David Stelzl