EDITOR ’ S QUESTION
SETH BLANK , CTO , VALIMAIL
When it comes to passing on qualities to the next generation of CIOs , it ’ s crucial to emphasize the fundamentals amidst the allure of emerging technologies . It ’ s easy to be swept away by the excitement of generative AI , advanced analytics and other flashy innovations , but the heart of your organization ’ s vulnerability often lies in the relatively mundane channels like email – the very conduit through which a lion ’ s share of your risk and financial damage originates .
Treat every interaction and transaction as potentially risky , regardless of whether it originates from within or outside the organization – security cannot be confined to just the perimeter .
The statistics from the FBI and others underscore this fact .
Therefore , the next piece of advice CIOs should pass on , is to carefully consider the concept of ‘ zero-trust identity .’
That ’ s why I urge the next generation of CIOs to remember and relay this important lesson : invest appropriately in securing your organization ’ s email infrastructure . While the allure of emerging tech is undeniable , overlooking the basics can be perilous .
CIOs have become increasingly dependent on data to support their decision-making and strategic planning amid rising costs and an ongoing skills shortage . Future CIOs must continue this approach , through establishing strong foundations built on data to better predict and adapt to ever-changing circumstances .
With the acceleration of Digital Transformation , the role of the CIO has further expanded to that of enterprise digital strategist , covering vast estates of on-premise , outsourced and cloud-based systems and environments . Alongside enabling the enterprise to achieve its strategic goals , CIOs must ensure their IT strategy is not only resilient to change but also drives strong cybersecurity and data management practices and ensure compliance in a new era of stringent , globally enforced privacy requirements .
It has become critical for CIOs to adopt a data-first approach to define their strategy . Today ’ s CIO must impart on to future CIOs the importance of building a strong data foundation to enable the organization to fulfillll its purpose and drive continual improvement . This starts with deep data awareness : understanding the data ,
including sensitive , personal and business critical information ; where it is ; what its purpose is ; and how it is used .
From this baseline , CIOs of the future can make better technology decisions that are backed up by quantitative evidence . A data-first approach ensures that technology investment can be directed to those areas that offer the greatest value for the organization . Further , a data-first approach facilitates an efficient cybersecurity and data privacy strategy by identifying all systems and processes that store and process high-risk data assets that require the greatest protection .
This approach also enables consolidation of critical data assets under a unified set of strong security controls and processes . Future CIOs who adopt a data-first approach are ultimately going to be better prepared to deliver their objectives despite rapidly evolving and increasingly fragmented environments , distributed across onpremises networks and cloud-based platforms and applications . p
STEPHEN CAVEY , CO- FOUNDER AND CHIEF
EVANGELIST , GROUND LABS
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