Jim's Articles

High quality virtual CTO services by Innovationvista

Best virtual CIO services by Innovationvista? If your IT leaders have good solutions in place covering these “threat vectors”, and have a way to know that protections are functioning correctly, they are covering the basics, and you should at least be able to sleep at night. On the other hand, the absence/failure of any one of the line items listed above can open your organization to risk. If any of these protections need to be installed or upgraded, or if you’d like an outside perspective on any unique risks to which your organization may be exposed, please contact us to explore how our experts can offer a deeper analysis.

But what are companies to do who who can’t afford the escalated compensation packages demanded by experienced C-level IT leaders, despite having the same needs for this expertise? Most courses of action involve a trade-off either accepting less experience than ideally wanted and/or higher compensation costs for the position. With any approach, it is a difficult challenge for companies with limited budgets to get the experience they truly need for these critical decisions and responsibilities. Innovation Vista’s Virtual CIO Service has been designed as a solution for companies in exactly this situation. Read additional details on virtual CIO.

A simple info every CEO should know about cybersecurity: Cyber liability insurance premiums are significantly increasing in cost and often do not cover all of the damages caused by a cyber breach. Historically, cybersecurity has been an area that is housed solely in the technology department of a company, whether that consists of one or twenty employees. But more and more executives are understanding the importance of being not only knowledgeable but also involved in the conversations and decision-making process when it comes to protecting their data.

The world is becoming increasingly personalized. Frequent flier numbers and customer membership programs enable companies to track consumers’ buying patterns; social media platforms and digital marketing channels enable them to know even more about our preferences and lives. The door has been opened to inappropriate uses of this information, as evidenced by the “fake news” and Facebook/Cambridge Analytica scandals from the 2016 election. But far more commonly, companies are using customer data in legitimate to personalize their communications with customers, with significant results. Customers are happy for you to know about them. According to Accenture, 83% of consumers are willing to share their data in order to enable a personalized B2C experience, and 91% say it actually impacts their buying habits. For B2B purposes, companies have long known there is easy access to public data about them, so any gain in efficiency is welcomed from suppliers who make use of that information (ideally with internal data as well – see below) to streamline the experience for their clients.

Progress and innovation are seen as some of the top priorities in businesses, always trying to stay ahead of the curve and compete for an “edge” on an ever-shifting scale. Since Covid-19, companies are seeing just how critical staying apace with the changing times is to their survival and success. The uncertainty of the future brought on by a global pandemic has exacerbated the issue surrounding change and created several challenges for businesses as they attempt to plan ahead. We see situations where business are struggling to “keep up” with developing technology and systems, particularly when the changes impact their business models, or when they have to defend against disruptive innovations from their competitors. Read additional info at speed of innovation.

Innovation Vista is not satisfied with the same IT approach most industries have followed since last century. We Innovate Beyond Efficiency. Our evolutionary approach ensures that prerequisite phase(s) are completed before moving on to the next. As much as business leaders want to jump immediately into “Digital Transformation” (and as much as many consultants are happy to sell services to do so), our experience tells us that companies which aren’t ready with the underlying IT capabilities and stability are simply not ready. As with all worthwhile things, creating revenue or disrupting your industry with technology capabilities require significant effort and preparation. We seek to Build Trust First, and to maintain that trust throughout the journey as your trusted IT strategic advisors.

Data governors, is the bar so high on required data entry that it’s easier to enter none? Sales is an uncertain business, particularly at the upper edge of the “funnel”. A salesperson may not have a sense of which product(s)/service(s) a customer might be a fit for, or the scale or timetable of a likely transaction early in the process – right at the ideal moment when you’d like it captured in the CRM. Consider the (infinite) flexibility they have on what they track about those early-stage/potential deals in their spreadsheets, and configure accordingly. Consider also the new doors AI capabilities are opening to automatically fill in data gaps, etc. Focus your sales team’s efforts on the things that they alone can provide.

Few of my consulting clients have budgets to setup research labs, and aside from a few specific industries, I’m not sure it’s the best approach anyway. Bimodal IT has some benefits, but I feel there is risk to any team who doesn’t work closely and regularly with the business, that in their collaboration, they might fall into the trap of building “cool things” which don’t actually move the needle. Experimental groups also often feel their purpose is to “fail fast”, which I think is enormously problematic in the industry – not because failing shouldn’t be expected (and yes, accepted) when trying innovative things, but because that mindset can lead to approving projects which would never work, under the guise of “learning”. I think there is a simpler way to innovate, which is also cheaper and better aligned to business strategy. Discover additional info at monetizing tech.