How (and why) great CIOs lead through teaching

Great IT leaders have a number of qualities in common, but one stands out in particular: their curiosity and insatiable appetite for learning. And while all great leaders are learners, there is a special class of leaders who are teachers. Longtime General Electric CEO Jack Welch was the epitome of leader as teacher. He didn’t…

Best bang for your IT budget

For many IT departments, the pandemic and its economic repercussions have led to constrained spending on technology products and services — if not outright budget cuts. This is leading many IT leaders to rethink their strategies on a short-term and medium-term basis. The current environment is forcing tech executives to consider which areas cannot afford…

How IT leaders can effectively address systemic racism

In response to ongoing protests across the United States (and globally) denouncing the institution of systemic racism that has plagued the black community for more than 400 years, many corporations have publicly announced their full support for social justice reform, anti-racism tactics, and “allyship” in various ways.  Since technology directly shapes how business is conducted…

GSK takes targeted approach to data-driven transformation

Many organizations that strive to become data-driven ultimately struggle to get value from their data. Seemingly promising analytics proofs of concept fail to scale in production, technology platforms aren’t always fully mature, and driving real impact from data often requires fundamental changes to the way people work across a range of disciplines and functions. For…

It’s time for CIOs to get smart

We are now two decades into the new century and how have CIOs fared? Do they feature prominently in the C-suite? Do they join their CEOs during updates at board meetings? Are they the business leaders IT research firms have long urged them to be?  The results are a mixed bag. On the one hand,…

6 steps to successful SaaS renewal negotiations

As software as a service (SaaS) has gained widespread market adoption, many initial deals are expiring and customers are facing renewal negotiations. But unlike other information technology deals, your negotiation leverage is much more compromised with SaaS renewals since you do not own the application licenses.  Consider the following: Do you have renewal price protections…

IT leaders juggle staffing strategies, post-COVID

Mark Chamberlain, vice president and head of global infrastructure at ADP, continued to recruit new IT workers during the second quarter of 2020, even as the coronavirus pandemic took hold across the globe. And he expects to hire new workers throughout the rest of the year, too. [ Check out our “CIO’s coronavirus playbook: 7…