IT Leadership

The importance – and the complexity – of Technology in modern business models have never been higher.  Because IT skills are so different from those possessed by many business leaders, most CEOs and Boards of Directors want an experienced leader at the top of their IT organization.  The right leader ensures the right choices are made on all strategic IT decisions, which is critical since so many will reverberate for their companies (and may make the difference between empowering them and limiting the entire organization): Casting a vision for where a company’s technology can and should evolve for maximum benefit Choosing cyber-security protections Ensuring sufficient capacity for system performance and growth Nurturing a culture of innovation and service in the IT department Collaborating with senior leadership to identify opportunities for IT-driven efficiencies & revenue Designing the Enterprise Architecture Choosing key technology vendors Negotiating services, software, and hardware contracts Deciding how [...]

With the recent growth of the gig economy in all kinds of sectors and roles, it bears asking whether this kind of structure might be a cheaper option for more companies searching for top-level IT leadership.  Answering this question will have some nuances, but it seems clear that going with a "gig CIO" is worth considering, and is likely better than at least one all-too-common mistake in choosing heads of IT. When you hear “gig economy,” likely you imagine transactions with Uber or Upwork—companies that operate under a “pay by the drink” approach.  It's part of a larger trend which also encompasses the Cloud revolution, where you pay per month for the specific amount of compute and storage you've utilized.  In general, participants in our economy are increasingly preferring to pay for only what they use, in many categories of goods and services.   Approximately 57 million people (36% of U.S. [...]