"A CIO Can Definitely Graduate To The Role Of A COO"

An Electronics Engineer, Nataraj N, VP and CIO - Aztecsoft, has over 16 years of experience in the filed of IT and Information Systems (IS). At Aztecsoft, Nataraj heads the global activities pertaining to the strategic implementation of IT and IS operations. Defining security initiatives in line with the company’s future growth plans also fall under his purview.

Before joining Aztecsoft in January 2003, Nataraj was heading the IS/IT operations of Ericsson Software Centre, India, and prior to that, he was with Hughes Software Systems in Bangalore.

Natraj has been the recipient of numerous awards for IT projects implemented under him, across different industries. Some of the major implementations done under him include Dynamic Bandwidth Allocation at Aztecsoft, replication of VLAN over WAN, implementation of Microsoft Dynamics/Share point- Company Intranet and Knowledge Management Portal at Aztecsoft, Unified Communication and merging Test Infrastructure Group to Information Systems at Ericsson.

Evolving role of a CIO

Nataraj observes that over the years, a CIO’s role has evolved from being an IT implementer to a strategic enabler. Businesses today, depend primarily on technology and the stability of a platform to achieve the desired results. As a result, the CIO’s role has automatically moved up from just implementing technology to becoming a strategic enabler of vital services. It is shifting from the technical “which technologies to adapt” type of decision making to the more broadly conceived “knowledge management” and “achievement of business objectives” type of decision-making.

Says Nataraj, “The CIO of today has become a strategic enabler, for both business growth as well as personal growth. Driving innovation and growth while managing costs is a priority for rapidly growing businesses, and the corporations are increasingly relying on the CIO for direction – for efficient technology as well as for strategic inputs that directly affect revenue.”

Budget cuts due to rupee appreciation, business alignment, infrastructure upgrade/replenishment, compliance, security, resource management, attrition/leadership, managing business changes and customer satisfaction are the major challenges faced by CIOs today, believes Nataraj.

The top five most popular and useful business trends in the industry that all CIOs should explore are Business Intelligence, Software as a Service (SAAS), Unified Communications, Maximising the value of IT assets and Driving Standardisation, opines Nataraj.

Graduating to the Next Big Role

“I am thoroughly enjoying my role at Aztecsoft, as it has given me the opportunity to identify the gap between business needs and the ability to deliver and that way my role has moved beyond fixing the past and more actively planning for the future,” states Nataraj.

According to him, the enterprise CIO has several choices and career paths laid out, but the most important ones involve a focus on either technology or business or an amalgamation of the two. While enigmatic business leaders could probably choose to rise to CEO levels, a large majority of CIOs probably won’t want to do that, as the role usually involves more business decisions than technology based ones, and requires a detachment from technology in day to day operations.

He said, “One of my next career goals is to move IT from cost centre to business unit. I have been quite happy with the initial response from our existing customers and also have a strong encouragement from my CEO. As compared with other functional CXOs, the CIO is in a unique position of having a broad vantage point on the entire enterprise and an understanding of how the different value-creating activities interrelate. In particular, CIOs can identify the drivers of operational excellence in their companies. For IT services enterprises, a CIO could definitely graduate to the role of a COO as the role involves operational “hand-on with technology” as well as a need to be cognizant of the bigger picture and play an active role in defining the long term strategic direction of the organisation.”

Of course, the role a CIO graduates to also heavily depends on the personal interests and natural ability, which is as important as commitment levels and business expertise.

More than just a Technology Visionary

“While the primary role of a CIO, that of a technology visionary, has not changed, the scope of his or her job has grown to include being a business expert too. The alignment of technology implementations with business objectives and the need for justification of IT investments with respect to business benefits is now becoming the norm. From a tactical and operational role to becoming involved in decision making that affects the business in the long term, the CIO of today needs to be cognizant of the ever changing pace of the business sector his or her company is in and adapt accordingly," says Nataraj on a concluding note.