The role of the modern CIO is changing: here's how to keep up

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Eighty-eight percent of CIOs say their role is becoming more digital and increasingly focused on innovation, raising the question: How will education, an industry, keep pace with digital transformation? Notoriously slow?

During a session at FETC 2024Marlon Shears, CIO of IDEA Public Schools, offered a realistic view of what CIOs across sectors are prioritizing and how digital transformation is driving changes and investments in education.

However, defining digital transformation is not as easy as it seems, because digital transformation will be different for each organization. But while there is no set definition, in general, such transformation can be defined as the integration of digital technology into all areas of a company, creating a fundamental change around how the company operates and how the company delivers value to stakeholders, Shears said.

But to drive this transformation, CIOs must challenge the status quo and become comfortable with failure, Shears said.

“You have to question: 'We don't do that here,'” he said. “You have to become the leader who challenges that. They may not always like each other, but they must build a culture in which they can support and trust each other to undertake that digital transformation. “It is not an overnight success story.”

In the pursuit of transformation, CIOs must become comfortable with failure. “This is one of the hardest ones,” Shears added. “No one is perfect when you try to change, integrate and do different things to add value to your organization. If we are not comfortable failing, if the organization is not comfortable with us failing, are we really doing a digital transformation? You have to communicate that to your superintendent.”

CIOs in other industries are prioritizing ai: 80 percent spend their time on ai and machine learning, up from 55 percent in 2023. According to new research on CIOs. Seventy percent focus on cybersecurity and 61 percent on data privacy and compliance.

Challenges include staff and skills shortages, changing business conditions, addressing security threats and budget constraints/demonstrating return on investment.

CIOs expect their technology budgets to increase in 2024, citing the need for security improvements, to keep pace with rising costs of technology and services, investments in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, investments in new skills and talent , and infrastructure modernization or migration.

“Digital transformation is not just about computers, but about how to take your organization to the next level,” he said. “This is something we have all started, but we also need to know where we want to go. It means bold decisions.”

Laura Ascione is the editorial director of eSchool Media. She graduated from the prestigious Philip Merrill School of Journalism at the University of Maryland.

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