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CIOs lead during the recovery

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Monday, 01 March 2021 05:46

Toronto – March 1, 2021 – The pandemic accelerated the move toward digital business models because of mandates to enhance engagement with employees, suppliers, and customers. Companies must plan for this trend to continue through the recovery phase and beyond. CIOs play essential roles in implementing robust data frameworks and providing comprehensive digital services to stakeholders throughout their organizations.

CIOs must maintain an accelerated digital transformation speed while ensuring that investments satisfy strategic roadmaps and business goals. Compounding this challenge is the shadow of higher scrutiny on technology spending.

With these principles in mind, The IT Media Group brought together 14 cross-industry IT executives for a virtual roundtable entitled 'CIO Imperatives for Leading the Recovery.' The session provided an opportunity to focus on the top data, design, and innovation issues that CIOs are facing during the recovery.

Moderating the roundtable was Jeff Ishii, Chief Technologist at The IT Media Group. Also participating were executives from the session sponsors Benchmark Corporation, experts at accelerating digital transformation, and Vertica, a world-leader in providing analytics at scale.

The interactive session included a combination of live-polling and panel discussion about the challenges and best practices for the following topic areas:

1. Tactics to monetize investments in data

• Identifying pain points that impede value generation
• Linking digital investments with business strategy

2. Effective digital transformation during budgetary challenges

• The risks of incurring technical debt
• Making the TCO of digital investments transparent and predictable

3. Strategies to combine data science and design

• Benefits of using a combined approach
• Making it easy for developers to embrace analytics

4. Methods for selecting the best digital approaches

• Addressing the executive skills gap
• Determining the art of the possible

Colin Mahony, SVP and CEO of Vertica, observed, "It was fascinating to hear different perspectives from leaders representing a diverse set of enterprises. It was also great to see how bullish everyone is about the Canadian market." He added, "It's an exciting time to be involved with data to help solve business problems. Organizations who do that well certainly outperform those that don't."

Luc Villeneuve, President of Benchmark Corporation, noted, "Technology vendors are introducing new features and solutions at a rapid pace. This velocity is a challenge because it creates both knowledge and skills gaps that are difficult to close." When asked how to address this, Luc offered, "It's important to find a partner that specializes in taking advantage of these changes and can act as a trusted advisor to coach an organization on where they need to go." Shlomo Bielak, CTO of Benchmark Corporation, added, "Experience and intellectual property can significantly shorten an organization's journey to the cloud. By bringing in the right partner, a company can greatly accelerate the realization of value."

All participants will receive a strategic insights report highlighting tactics and best practices discussed during the roundtable.

The IT Media Group's CIO roundtables are among the most successful event programs for IT executives in Canada, bringing together scores of senior-level peers for thoughtful private discussions around the top issues facing enterprise IT. For a better understanding of these events, please visit our Video section.

The IT Media Group is an award-winning producer of events and content for senior IT executives. Based in Toronto, our leadership team includes some of the most experienced and well-respected media, technology, and business professionals serving Canada's IT executive community.