7 Things That Keep CIOs Up At Night
CIOs are under immense pressure in today’s complex environments. What are the things keeping tech leaders up at night? According to a recent study of CIOs by Sungard Availability Services (SAS) the seven most pressing issues are:
- External Data Security Threats
Security threats are the number one worry of technology leaders, according to the SAS survey. It seems that every news cycle includes at least one story of company data falling into the wrong hands, and no CIO wants to wake up to that phone call.
- Internal Data Security Threats
While external threats always loom like a specter, internal threats increase every day. One misplaced laptop or smartphone could spell disaster for the entire organization. Lax security protocols from non-technical employees are also an issue, like poor password choices.
- Downtime
The average cost of downtime to US companies is $686,000 per hour. Strong testing and planning are a matter of organizational profitability, and a matter of significant stress and worry for today’s CIO.
- Disaster Recovery
Downtime not only damages relations with customers and costs money – in the event of a real disaster, the future of the whole organization could be at risk. 40% of businesses cannot re-open their doors after a disaster.
- Proving Value of Tech Rollouts
Swaying company leaders to make new investments in technology is part art, and part science. Once the dollars and the human resources are delegated, CIOs are under constant pressure to prove ROI.
- Vendor Lock-In
Despite the lip service given to “open” technologies, every CIO knows that a vendor will say their products only work well when coupled with other products in their catalog. When you lock in with one major vendor (Microsoft, Oracle, IBM, Salesforce, etc.), you are often limited in opportunities to diversify your technology stack.
- Talent Acquisition
As technology continues to drive business goals, the need for top talent keeps growing. However, the insatiable thirst for tech skills has led to widening skillset gap in the market. CIOs worry that recruiting, hiring, and employee retention in IT are not given the proper attention once the proverbial rubber hits the road.
Assuaging these fears begins with hiring the right people. A strong team of tech professionals can keep data secure, ensure uptime, demonstrate ROI and expertly manage vendors. If you are searching for talent for your IT team so that you can sleep better at night, contact the expert IT recruiters at Talon today.
