Challenges that a CIO has to face


There are lot of professional jobs in the world. And one of the most difficult jobs in the present situation is that of a chief information officer or an information technology director. This is indeed the most important job when it comes to a company or organisation based on information technology. It is also safe to say that this period of time is the toughest period for CIOs. Nowadays a CTO of a company needs to make sure that he is good in leading and also well versed in the different aspects of business. If this is not the case they would not be able to remain in the position for long. Most of the people who hold the title are not able to cope up with hurdles and challenges thrown at them due to the tight competition that is there in the market. In this twenty first century, the importance of technology especially the field of IT is expanding ever so quickly. This creates both opportunities as well as challenges for the companies and the final decision on most of the issues must be taken by the CIO. Hence the pressure of the holder of this position is immensely large.

Some of the many challenges that a CIO has to face are:
·      Making the organisation ready for data explosion: This is probably the most difficult challenge that CIOs or CTOs has to face. Yet again when we speak about the improvement in technology, the past few decades is the period that seen the most of the advancements. Ranging from computers to internet, from cell phones to smart phones everything have been developed in the past few years. And it is also safe to say that the advancements in technology are on the rise. In fact the most interesting concept that is gaining popularity is the internet of things(IoT). The major idea is to connect more and more gadgets that are used regularly onto the internet. in short this is being able to make ordinary things work in a smart manner. For achieving this, there must be capability for processing a lot of data. Hence there is a chance or in fact there will be a huge data explosion in the nearby future. The company must be ready to counter this problem or else it will not be able to cope up with the others in the field. And it is the responsibility of the CIOs to make sure that the company is ready when the time comes.
·      Making arrangements so that the data is meaningful even when used in different systems:  the most important problem is that the present world is a data driven one. Hence it is very important the data from system is made meaningful to others. Or else the gap between the different sections would increase which is not desired. Another problem is that the data which is not meaningful is very hard to pull out. Or in other words the process of retrieving the data and making reports will become very time consuming.
·      Finding staff that are skilled in the field: When speaking about the challenges faced by the CIOs across the world, one that cannot be missed is the lack of availability of people who are well trained and skilled. It is true that many countries show a lot of potential to produce skilled personnel. But the problem is that the talent is raw in most cases and proper training is something that is lacking. As CIOs, providing training from the grass root level is something that is not practical. The only thing that they can do is to employ people who are best in the field. The problem if the people employed are not skilled is that the company’s progress would be hindered and also there would be a huge loss of money as well.
·      Make appropriate changes so that the company can cope up with the changes that mobile has brought about: The word mobile itself means one that is moving. Hence it is not improper in saying that invention and development of mobiles have set the whole world into motion. People can now work from anywhere and also at any time. Hence as a company’s CIO, it is very important to make sure that the mobile employees are properly managed.
·      Make sure that all the data is safe: One of the side- effects of the vast improvements in the field of information technology is that ensuring the safety of a piece of data has become very difficult. Again as far as CIOs or CTOs are concerned, one of the most important things to make sure is that the data stored in their company or organisation is completely safe and secure. It is evident from the records that the attempts for data breaching are on the rise. Also the efficiency of the whole organisation rests on the level of security provided to the data that it holds. If a cyber-breach takes place and some of the data gets wiped out, then the whole company begin to fall apart.



·      Making sure that he or she earns credibility as a CTO: This may sound easy, but can only be achieved if he or she is able to fulfil all the other requirements mentioned above. The person will have to show leadership both internally as well as externally. They will have to make sure that the employees are united and performing efficiently and at the same time should cater to the requirements of the customers or else the company will lose its position in the field.
And because of all these reasons the period for which most CIOs or CTOs last is only about 24 months. Also new ideas are being developed on a daily basis and hence it is not very easy to decide which one to select and which one to neglect. Hence it is evident that the job of a chief information officer is not at all easy.


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