Top 9 CIO Technology Priorities, Strategies in 2022

The past two years have seen many changes within companies in terms of work model, strategies and CIO agenda due to the global pandemic. In 2022, these changes are only going get more advance, exciting and challenging and we can surely expect new CIO priorities.

Listed below are top 9 CIO priorities for this year to help businesses set goals accordingly and ensure transformation with time.

• Advancement of AI:
  In 2022, the world is going to witness an explosion in data and information and it is going to be mandatory for companies to deploy technologies that can organize and put this data to use.

  CIOs need to look forward to advancing their AI technology for a better computing and faster performance in data handling. Implementation of AI and machine learning models is going to aid business in better decision making and give a clear picture about where the company’s future is headed. 

• Cybersecurity:
  With digital activities and interactions growing exponentially, cybersecurity has not only become a matter of interest, but also a matter of concern for many CIOs. Increasing cases of system hacks, data leaks, information breach, and identity thefts has made it mandatory for companies to boost cybersecurity protocols and initiatives.

  One must ensure a strong and thorough endpoint security, keep backup systems in check, test for loopholes and implement technologies for security. 

• Sustainable Infrastructure:
  Maintaining a physical IT infrastructure has never been a cake-walk. For many businesses, a physical infrastructure raises concerns about carbon footprints, physical security, cost to company, maintenance and repair, etc. Sustainability too, in that case, is under question.

  Cloud adoption and migration is a solution to this challenge. When business decide to migrate to cloud, they are not only saving infrastructure cost and the efforts behind setting up and maintaining a data center, but also moving towards a more sustainable option. There have been heavy investments in making sustainable data centers around the globe by Cloud providers. Businesses can make use of that and create a cloud-based infrastructure for their IT team, without worrying about physical security of systems, maintenance, cooling, and many other things.

• Automation advancement:
  Automation accelerates digital transformation. The perks of digitalization are well known to all CIOs and thus advancing autonomous systems is a first-hand CIO need.

  With automation, one can eliminate delegating resources to monotonous processes and instead utilize talent elsewhere for better results. Automation systems can perform these repetitive tasks faster and with more accuracy and precision, thus even avoiding human errors. The transition from a digital environment to a fully automated environment may take time, but can ensure increased efficiency, cost-reduction and more productivity and innovation within a company. 

• Digital skill enhancement:
  Digitalization came into existence for companies to become more operationally efficient. Hence, there must be liberation from manual processes such as physical documentation and signing, record book maintenance, manual data entries, etc.

  As businesses are moving towards a fast-paced digital future, CIOs must focus upon building workforce talent and skills along with a technological infrastructure. With this, the key focus also be on frictionless customer experience, improving security and system efficiency.

• Staffing and retention:
  A strong talent base and skill base are the key to a successful business. CIO agenda that involves making the organization a better workplace and career destination have better chance at innovation and can get ahead in their competition.

  Hiring the right talent and deploying strategies for retention of the same leads to better results. CIOs must ensure a sync in the ideas and purpose of their brand and the mindset and career path of the incoming talents. A skill assessment at constant intervals ensures maintenance of the standard of service. Only when efforts have been put into understanding these core objectives and available resources, CIOs’ needs and goals are going to be met.

• Privacy protection:
  As measures are being taken for cybersecurity and protection of the company’s interests and data, it is also very much important that an IT leader understands everyone’s right to privacy and ensures protection of the same.

  Customers, employees, partners and everyone associated with one’s business trust the company with their private data and a CIO’s priority list must include this factor. One must take responsibility and measures to ensure that their data is not used inappropriately and curb even the temptation to do so. Companies must constantly update their security and privacy policies and keep their customers informed.

• Reformulation and alignment:
  Businesses have been trying to adapt to a pandemic ridden era and meet their operational and management needs virtually for the past couple of years. It is now time to refocus and reform business strategies. Many companies have been trying to shift to a pre-pandemic work style, while many are adopting a hybrid system.

  CIOs must look into what’s best for their organization, reform work and IT models and realign actions with new CIO needs and technological advancements.

• Adapting to changes- Web 3.0:
  Metaverse, part of Web 3.0, is going to change the way we communicate in the near future. Adapting to this new way of communication would be wise for anyone expecting to grow in the web 3.0 era. Specially for companies looking forward to adapting remote working, metaverse can provide a good virtual office environment, identity and much more.

  CIOs can even plan arranging digital resources and assets of the company in the metaverse for a blockchain based record-keeping and identity management.

In a competitive world like ours, it is essential to keep pace with technological advancements. The above listed CIO priorities give clarity about the primary focus essential for this year. Businesses, thus, must be prepared for the next phase that the world is entering into.