Thanks to the vital role they and technology played in ensuring business continuity during the global pandemic. Gartner Research’s “The 2021 CIO Agenda: Seize This Opportunity for Digital Business Acceleration” report states that: “The CIO’s relationship with the business is stronger than ever. The following were the result of the COVID-19 pandemic:
– 66% increased strength of CIO-CEO relationship
– 70% of CIOs assuming leadership of high-impact initiatives
– 80% of CIOs educating CEOs and other senior stakeholders on the value of II
Now it’s time to leverage and improve this level of perceived business value, as the IT department helps to ensure business survival and provides the capabilities that drive growth.
This adoption or acceleration of digital transformation strategies in response to the global pandemic is not just about the ability to ensure that the organization is ‘Future Fit’, but it’s also an opportunity for IT departments to regain their status as drivers of technology-enabled business innovation. After all, digital transformation is ultimately about business transformation.
Leveraging Pandemic-Created Wins
What shouldn’t be overlooked is the changing focus of IT service delivery and support personnel as both they, and the people they serve, better appreciated the IT department’s efforts and achievements as being essential to business operations and outcomes.
In 2021, both of these elements should be seen as platforms for the required acceleration of digital transformation strategies. However, there’s another pandemic-created win that shouldn’t be overlooked. That is the learnings from the pandemic – the good, the bad, and maybe even the ugly. From the ability to rapidly deliver business-driven change by better appreciating the human-side of IT service delivery and support, to the impact of technology issues and their handling on business operations and outcomes.
In addition to being an accelerator of digital transformation, the global pandemic wins (and losses) should also be seen as the blueprint for future digital transformation success.
The role of IT in digital transformation
Even if the more traditional IT service desk automated workflow capabilities such as incident, service request, and change management processes, along with enabling capabilities such as self-service and knowledge management, are already recognized as opportunities to improve other business functions. There are also two other enterprise service management opportunities that shouldn’t be overlooked:
The sharing of additional ITSM capabilities and the technology enablement, with other business functions. This includes problem management, continual improvement, service design, service continuity management, and (IT) asset management (which is included as a new management practice in ITIL 4).
The extension of the intelligent automation capabilities in modern ITSM tools, introduced for better IT support in particular, to other business functions. The use of machine learning and automation reduces the manual needs of high-volume, low-value tasks such as incoming ticket triage. Or predictive analytics allows business function operations and outcomes to be all three of ‘better, faster, cheaper.’
2021 will necessitate various changes to IT service delivery and support and the wider IT department operations. While accelerated digital transformation will be prevalent within most organizations, the CIO agenda for 2021 should include far more. Download our latest white paper to explore the 3Ts of Tightening-up, Transformation, and Talent.
Danielle Livy
Senior Director, Marketing – Americas at SymphonyAI Summit
