The CIO article, “Is it time for CIOs to step up and rule the digital world?” asks a good question. Can the CMO better lead a digital transformation and align IT with what is increasing a digital business than the CIO? This is an oversimplified question asking who but not what needs to be done? Specific to IT, what does the roadmap look like to achieve the digital transformation including removing aging IT systems that are a barrier to change? Modernizing IT systems is likely not what a CMO can do or even would want to do. IT and marketing must partner to achieve a digital transformation.
IT has been treated as a cost center for years if not decades. The result` is enormous technical debt. IT has been turned into package implementers and outsourced for over a decade and now, when deep technical capabilities are needed, technical competencies are hard to find. The CMO may have great ideas but when faced with aging systems, huge sunk costs, mismanaged data, inefficient processes and a lack of talent, they would become mired in the complexity that is the reality of most IT environments.
What is needed is for the CIO to modernize IT systems, clean up data and create agile processes so the CMO can deliver on a digital vision. A transformational CIO is needed and the mission of IT needs to change from cost containment to digital innovation. Does the CMO really want to deal with an aging ERP system, an out of date waterfall methodology, or moving CRM to the cloud? I don’t think so. And I don’t think the answer to achieving a digital transformation is in filling the execute suite. It’s going to take a lot of hard work to rationalize and modernize systems and information management. There needs to be a shift from keeping the lights on as economically as possible to a rapid transformation. The CIO and CMO need a shared vision for the digital transformation and a practical roadmap to get there.
The perceived lack of IT business alignment is caused by the misalignment of shared goals. Think about the goals of outsourced IT – reduce cost and stabilize systems to meet SLAs. This is a barrier to change! IT must have a goal of digital innovation and not cost containment to the point of sacrificing technical capability including systems, processes and human capital. A transformational CIO must share the same goals as the CMO.
The following is an excerpt from the CIO article:
The rise of the digital customer has sparked a battle among executives — namely, CMO vs. CIO — with lots of online sales at stake. In turn, this has led some companies to create new executive positions, such as the chief digital officer, chief data officer, chief analytics officer, chief marketing technologist and chief experience officer, all charged with taking a holistic view of the digital customer and reaching out across the enterprise…
Proponents of a new C-suite executive argue that the need for business-tech alignment is greater than ever. Companies must survive and thrive in a digital world where relationships with the customer, employee and supplier require emerging technology. The responsibility for this alignment has often fallen on the shoulders of CIOs, and every year for more than a decade CIOs have reiterated that this is their biggest challenge.
