How do you know if your technology solutions are the right ones to drive business growth? How do you stay ahead of new technologies and innovations that could help?
A CIO advisory team is the right choice when you need someone you trust to align your business strategy, goals and vision with technology that makes a difference. With the proper counsel, insights and industry expertise, you can chart a path forward, creating a technology roadmap that helps in defining priorities and setting budgets.
Small- and medium-sized businesses often do not have an internal chief information officer or their CIO is tasked with too many projects, too many technologies and too little staff. That’s when a CIO advisory team makes sense.
How Does a CIO Advisory Team Work?
A CIO advisory team provides counsel and leadership to CEOs, CIOs and other C-suite executives. Team members begin by understanding a company’s existing technologies and how they are used; business priorities and goals; and challenges to processes, efficiencies and outcomes.
What Services Does a CIO Advisory Team Provide?
Based on the identified needs, a CIO advisory team can take on several functions, including:
- Technology assessments. A thorough evaluation of systems, solutions, applications and uses yields recommendations about what improvements should be made.
- Technology strategic planning. A determination of short- and long-term technology needs can inform and support broader planning processes and address inefficiency, productivity, competitive threats and opportunities.
- IT executive mentoring. For new CIOs, mentoring from seasoned professionals helps your technology leaders make better decisions that have a positive impact on the business.
- Project rescue. IT projects can go off the rails quickly. When a project needs to be rescued, your CIO advisors can step in and get the work back on track.
- Digital transformation. Plotting a technology course that propels your business forward takes a deep understanding of new technologies, including the Internet of Things, data analytics, automation, artificial intelligence and virtual reality. Your CIO advisors have the knowledge and experience to map that course.
- M&A Technology Assessments. If you are engaged in a merger or acquisition, you need a complete, unbiased understanding of the entity’s technology solutions.
Should My Company Bring In a CIO Advisory Team?
Here are some of the most typical situations where working with a CIO advisory team makes the most sense:
- The internal IT team does not have leadership
- Internal processes are heavily reliant on technology
- A business lacks an IT strategist or IT strategy
- A company needs to communicate technology to executives, investors or board members without it being too techy
- The bottom line is technology-dependent
- The technologies in place are outdated or overly customized or cannot be integrated
- A business cannot collect, store, analyze and leverage data effectively
When you need a CIO advisory team that brings IT experience, expertise, counsel and confidence to your business, contact CIO Advise. Contact us today to schedule a no-obligation initial consultation.
