Naveen Zutshi is the CIO of Databricks.
No matter the industry or where they are in their IT transformation journey, companies often look to their CIO as the catalyst for change. Generative AI is no different. While the technology comes with its own set of challenges, the shift underway towards greater data intelligence and automation offers an opportunity for CIOs to change more than just the software the company is using.
Few other teams see and touch as many functions across the business as IT does. In the new digital reality that enterprises are living in, IT workers can view how work actually traverses the enterprises from behind the scenes, making them much more knowledgeable about the pain points that are inhibiting productivity.
As a result, they are best positioned to bring AI to the forefront of the organization. But to become the new AI shepherds, CIOs must shift both the mindset and operations of their IT cohorts. They must now treat the organization like a product team, focused on quickly producing solutions that solve real problems facing the business.
CIOs can take their team out of the shadows and elevate IT to become the central nervous system of the business. In a landscape marked by generative AI, it’s essential to do so to stay relevant and competitive. To rise to the challenge, I encourage CIOs to consider the following mindset shifts.
Viewing IT As A Product Organization
IT has a bird’s-eye view of the organization, and CIOs need to do more with that unique vantage point.
By shifting to a product mindset, the IT team can take advantage of the CIO’s deep knowledge of the unique issues different parts of the business face and deploy a more proactive, agile and impactful approach to solving those pain points. This way, the IT team sheds its reputation as a day-to-day order-taker and instead becomes a vital driver of business efficiency.
Databricks’ IT team, for example, runs an extremely small project management office (PMO), an approach that helps deliver organizational discipline without bureaucracy. Instead of lots of project managers, we opted to double down on technical product managers with computer science backgrounds to be the responsible individuals on key projects. They are close collaborators with other functions of the business, serving as forward-leaning stewards of innovation. Now, the IT team spends less time tracking down answers from project managers or outsourcers and more time building custom tools to serve the broader organization.
With the right structure, the IT team can significantly impact the business by putting connective tissue together, understanding where the gaps are and leveraging technology to be better.
Deepening IT’s Understanding Of Broader Business Needs
As IT and technical teams take center stage at more organizations, the members must align their important new work with the broader strategic initiatives and priorities.
There is never a shortage of tasks for IT. But in this new era, the department will have more on their to-do lists than ever before. As a result, team members will likely struggle to prioritize those projects. As leaders, CIOs must understand the ultimate goals of the initiatives and the potential impacts or benefits to cut through the hype and ensure that, with every initiative, the business is getting a return on its investment.
CIOs should guide teams toward providing clear problem statements and business value propositions (such as an intent document) before starting projects, with data that supports why a problem needs to be solved and how they will quantify the benefit. From there, IT teams can prioritize projects using a clear paradigm or framework such as Eisenhower or RICE.
This will look different for every business. For example, some CIOs’ priorities are finalizing a cloud migration strategy and building out an AI strategy. Meanwhile, others are addressing tech debt in legacy systems to get their team to a place where it can compete in the AI era. Others are laser-focused on actively applying AI to the benefit of the business, such as through building custom tools for efficiencies in teams like HR and sales.
The overarching new rule for IT is that its work must be measured in business impact, not in hours spent or projects delivered.
Rethinking The Relationship Between Process And Technology
There’s a longstanding ethos among leaders that process must precede technology. Some naysayers even liken this perspective to a chicken-or-egg-like debate—which one actually needs to come first? Both of these arguments assume a linearity that simply doesn’t exist in the modern enterprise.
Generative AI is a great example where these legacy mindsets don’t hold true. Its ability to disrupt countless processes leaves process-oriented IT potentially unable to rise to the occasion in time to keep pace with competitors.
For example, it’s not uncommon for content management projects to fail. While fresh processes for content management roll out on a recurring basis, there’s little maintenance around those processes. Now, AI-powered tools have completely disrupted those workflows.
Ultimately, technology must underscore all processes. As a CIO, it’s important to understand that these two core elements of work are inherently intertwined. In a world where CIOs are not just custodians of data but strategic drivers of the future of the enterprise, these key mindset shifts can help CIOs better understand where opportunities lie and what efforts need to be prioritized.
To impel impactful change as AI gains footing, it’s imperative to rethink how we view IT, the team’s role within the organization and the way IT brings innovation to the forefront.
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