Doing business in modern conditions is not complete without the use of information technologies and systems, which are becoming more and more complex every year. Efficient use of these resources as part of the development of the company also becomes difficult.
That is why even in small enterprises there is at least one person who is responsible for solving problems in the field of IT. On the basis of large organizations, we are talking about a whole staff of specialists in various fields (system administrators, webmasters, programmers, system analysts, etc.), who work under the guidance of an IT director or CIO. Each year even a CIO summit is held to gather all tech experts from across the globe.
Today we invite you to consider all the features of this profession, as well as find out what qualities its representative should have
Duties of CIO
Based on the professional standard and requests from the management of enterprises, the following CIO duties can be distinguished:
- Organization of work of employees of the IT department
- Development of a company strategy in the IT field
- Providing the company with the necessary equipment and software
- Automation of business processes
- Control of maintenance of computer equipment
- Control of maintenance of databases and software
- Work on the implementation of IT projects
- Participation in financing planning, accounting of expenses of the IT department
- Document flow control
- Timely troubleshooting of computer equipment
It is clear that CIO will not go around and set up all the computers of the enterprise himself or study databases all day long. Basically, he supervises the work of subordinates and is responsible for performing the functions of the IT department.
A CIO can bring real value to a business if he uses all his professional experience and understanding of modern technologies in order to solve business problems and develop them.
CIO Vs. CEO
The tasks of these two directions overlap in many respects, but they have different specifics. The CEO (chief executive officer) is involved in the management of the entire organization and determines the strategic directions for its development. The CIO is mainly involved in managing information resources and introducing new technologies, which should also contribute to the development of the company.
What Personal Qualities Should A CIO Have?
A good IT director should have the following knowledge and skills:
- Leadership skills
- Ability to work in a team, make decisions, analyze the opinions of other employees
- The ability to motivate subordinates to work, and create the necessary emotional background
- Thorough knowledge of the specifics of it industry
- Understanding the patterns of business processes of your organization
- Project management skills
In a word, to be a real CIO, you need not only to be well versed in the technical part and have the makings of a leader but also to know how a particular business works and how IT can help in its development.
Do not forget that for a CIO as for any other leader, it is important to have such personal qualities as:
- Sociability
- Influence
- The ability to self-organize
- Analytic skills
- Creativity
- A responsibility
- Stress tolerance
- Patience
