How Can a CIO Advisory Assist in Technology
Having access to an experienced sounding board can help busy IT leaders address a wide range of challenges. From navigating the complexities of moving to or expanding in the cloud, to providing insight into how the C-suite views IT strategies and initiatives, a CIO advisory can provide invaluable support.
One of the biggest obstacles for a new CIO advisory is understanding the capabilities of an organization, its capacity to support technology outcomes, and the level of investment that’s realistic for the organization given current economic conditions. A CIO advisor can assist by assessing and communicating these factors so that the new CIO can effectively prioritize and implement the right technologies to produce the most value.
Many CIOs struggle to transform the image of their IT departments in the eyes of senior business leadership and end users. A CIO advisor can engineer these changes by establishing relationships with business executives and acting as an evangelist for the IT department. This will help to elevate the status of the department, enable it to be leveraged for strategic initiatives and ensure that the business is fully aware of what can be accomplished with a strong IT team.
How Can a CIO Advisory Assist in Technology Evaluation and Selection?
Bringing in an interim or fractional CIO can be an effective way to add the level of expertise required to guide the IT department and its employees through a challenging period of change. A CIO advisor can be instrumental in ensuring that the best candidates are identified for the role, by evaluating potential candidate skills and experiences and discussing with them any areas where the new CIO may need additional training to fill the gaps in experience.
In addition to assessing talent, CIO advisors can also assist in recruiting for the role. They can act as an informed and technically adept voice for the candidate to help them better understand the opportunity, offer insight into the organization and its people, and describe any specific capabilities or approaches needed to succeed. This can help to reduce hiring time and the associated risk of a bad hire as well as to better align expectations of the role with its capabilities and capacities.
A CIO advisor can help to streamline IT processes to allow the IT team to focus more on innovation and other strategic activities. This will require working with the existing IT leadership team to assess the current state, define improvements and then help drive them through implementation with the assistance of the CIO advisory service.
Finding a qualified CIO advisory can be difficult, but there are individuals and Leadership-as-a-Service firms that specialize in providing this type of support. A good place to start is by using a CEO’s personal network for referrals to potential candidates. These can include private equity and venture capital investors, past colleagues, and other trusted advisors such as attorneys, accountants and bankers. Once a short list has been compiled, it’s important to visit the websites and speak with the provider to get a feel for their approach.