The CIO is the head of the company , in charge of everything related to information technology, ranging from the operation of technology to the creation of services that optimize the work of employees and increase business efficiency.
He is in charge of the company's IT policy. This work has
become especially urgent during the pandemic, due to the massive migration to
telecommuting: it is now necessary to consider the possibility of remotely
controlling employee computers and ensuring secure access to corporate
services.
Functions of a CIO
The profile of a CIO or IT director usually includes the work of creating,
implementing and updating specific projects that the company requires. Broadly
speaking, it is a complete work cycle, which includes both the organization of
processes and the preparation of IT budgets, the management of human resources
and the analysis of the performance of the departments.
A CIO must be adept at developing an IT strategy for the
business, setting goals, anticipating results, and presenting them to the board
of directors, the CEO, or the founders.
You then need to organize the work, write instructions and
requirements for the staff, and formulate the KPIs and qualifications for the
departments. A CIO is usually in charge of managing relationships with
information providers and consumers, which depending on the company's activity
can be external or internal customers, for example, other departments.
Another responsibility is security, as the CIO must establish a system for information to flow smoothly between employees through secure channels.
Finally, one of the main responsibilities is the management
of the company's IT budget. Currently, in companies, the CIO must prepare and
optimize the budget, evaluate it and strive to achieve a positive ROI, that is,
a return on investment in information technology. The functions of an IT
manager also include the organization of purchases, that is, tenders.
Competences that an IT manager should have
It is a high-level managerial position, so candidates must
have developed skills:
Develop systems thinking . It is necessary to have what is
called technical thinking, logical capacity, to be able to decompose a complex
task into small subtasks, to transform disorder into an organized structure.
Lead and Delegate : IT departments tend to have many tasks.
So the first thing an IT manager should do is avoid micromanaging and move on
to strategic management . You have to learn to set objectives so that
subordinates understand the true goals and achieve them.
Prioritization . Information technologies evolve rapidly:
new services and capabilities appear every day. It is important to
differentiate between the really important updates and the decorative ones that
are not useful for the company, and to implement only the first ones.
Charisma and emotional leadership . The field of computer
science requires intense intellectual activity. It is difficult, and employees
sometimes need support. They must understand that they are not in this just for
the money. In those moments, a CIO needs leadership skills: the ability to
create a positive atmosphere in the team, to motivate people to move, to lead
them.
Negotiation . It is important that information systems
managers have developed their communication skills: they will have to apply
them when hiring employees, communicating with suppliers and internal and
external customers. @read more:-