CIOs: An Indispensable Asset to Business Competitiveness

The digital transformation and the unmistakable rise of a digital economy has made it resoundingly clear that Chief Information Officers (CIOs) need to be involved in the development of business strategy and decision-making. To speak on this evolving role and expanding responsibilities, Mexico Business News has invited industry leaders from CIOs Mexicanos & LATAM, CONEJOSI and Fortinet, which are spearheading the re-definition of this role.

C-suite executives relied disproportionately on their CIOs to make constructive decisions regarding technology applications and solutions during the digital mad dash. The observed success derived from their expertise has secured their seat at the decision-making table. They will likely be expected to contribute to the generation of growth charts for the expansion and transformation of businesses. In other words, their role has fundamentally shifted from an executory role to a leadership role, one that will require the development of other business capabilities.

Despite the digital push in Mexico, however, CIOs have struggled to open their organizations to technological innovation and digitalization, says Juan Carlos Ortiz, Vice President, CIOs Mexicanos & LATAM. Even as CIOs lead multiple technology initiatives for their companies including infrastructure reconfiguration, intelligence development and cybersecurity among others, they still lack decision-making authority. Failure to bypass this internal resistance will prove consequential to the individual competitiveness of companies, and ultimately their survival.

So long as companies continue to compete using technology advances and applications, the responsibilities of CIOs will continue to expand, as should their decision-power. Technology and software companies in particular will require complete end-to-end visibility of workflow, starting with the creation of ideas to their execution. This implies a lot of forethought, detailed preparation, strategic execution and, above all, the ability to explain the implication of various directions it might take. These are only a few considerations businesses will squarely confront in 2022.

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