State of the CIO – Détails, épisodes et analyse

From solutions architecture to security, Gabe Gumbs brings wide and deep technical experience to his position as Chief Innovation Officer at Spirion. Today, he is leading the Spirion product team through strategic product development to create technologies that push data security forward in an increasingly complex digital world. Prior to his new position at Spirion, Gabe held a range of positions in security technology, including VP of Product Management at Spirion. Other prior positions include VP of Product Strategy at STEALTHbits Technologies, and Director of Research and Products at WhiteHat Security. Gabe also served on the Board of Advisors at eGRC.com.

Show Notes:

• [01:16] Gabe shares his career journey and how he got into IT. His interest in technology actually began in high school.  
• [02:39] He started his IT career as a junior network admin.  About ten years ago he switched from the practitioner side to the solution provider side.  So now he builds security technologies and that is the core of what he focused on.
• [04:25] Chief Innovation Officer means that he sits at the head of their project strategy.  He ensures they are bringing the market the right technologies to solve their customers problems.  
• [05:52] They spend a lot of time understanding and examining the customer’s problem well before jumping to the solution. 
• [06:46] He spends a lot of time digging into the problems themselves with the customer. 
• [07:11] For the most part, your average customer understands that they are not so unique that their problems would stand out from others. 
• [07:55] When organizations are taking very differentiated approaches to solving their own problems where they might run into unique challenges of their own.  
• [09:24] Privacy operations is going to become a very necessary function inside of any organization with any sizable amount of data.  
• [11:25] It is especially difficult when the internal business doesn't understand where all the data exists in multiple clouds. 
• [12:57] You can have security without privacy.  On the security side you are dealing with risks that arise from unauthorized access to data.  On the privacy side you are dealing risks that arise from authorized access data. 
• [13:37] The expectation of privacy is a bit overstated in the corporate world.  
• [14:38] Where is all your data and what type of data is it?
• [15:50] If that is data that you’re required to share with a third party, that is going to require different security and privacy controls.  
• [16:14] We have to link the business use of the data to the security and privacy controls.  
• [16:35] Align business use of the data with the data type. 
• [17:01] Did I genuinely understand that problem and am I approaching it the right way? 
• [17:56] The non malicious threats continue to surprise them in different ways. Underestimating human ingenuity will always get us in trouble.  
• [19:03] It helps to visualize the problem.   
• [19:51] Gabe shares his best worst boss story. 
• [20:47] It is important to understand how the business operates and then understanding how you are going to secure the business. 
• [22:26] Gabe’s advice is to slow down. Sometimes you have to slow down to speed up. 
• [23:46] Spend more time in the problem space even in your personal life.  When we are under pressure we tend to want to run towards solving it, but being uncomfortable for just a little bit longer so you can understand that problem is really where we need to be. 

Links and Resources:

• State of the CIO Podcast Website
• State of the CIO Podcast on Apple Podcasts
• Dan on LinkedIn
• Gabe on LinkedIn
• Gabe on Twitter
• Spirion
• Privacy Please Podcast

Sri Koneru is the Global Technology leader with Worldwide Operations experience in Fortune 100 companies His industry and functional expertise includes retail, energy, and utilities, manufacturing, and technology. He is a motivated and customer-centric senior technology leader and business strategist with a track record of transforming organizations to deliver sustainable results and propel digital innovation. I champion cutting-edge technologies that increase customer engagement, grow the business, expand operational capabilities, improve efficiency and reduce costs.

Show Notes:

• [01:08] Sri shares his career journey. He got an engineering degree and he knew he wanted to learn as much as he could. 
• [02:20] It is all about people and relationships.  Work gets down through relationships.  
• [03:18] He was good in math and logic growing up so naturally, he leaned towards technology so that really paved his path into technology.  
• [04:13] Technology is a part of every business model.  You have to have some technical knowledge. 
• [05:10] You can never go wrong looking at how you can transform your customer experiences.  
• [05:51] At the end of the day, the customer is king. 
• [06:13] The other thing you can never go wrong with in your transformation efforts is employee experience. Enhancing the employee experience and helps them provide a better customer experience.  
• [07:45] Understanding what are customer friction points and pain points are and doing that in the context of customer journey mapping. 
• [08:35] You have to do step zero before you get to step four.  Sometimes in the digital transformation world, we try to go to step four first. 
• [10:06] When you are talking about customer journey mapping sometimes you have to unlearn what you have learned over the last 20 years and outsiders can enable you to do that.  
• [11:34] As an IT leader you want to know the details of the business process and business capabilities.  IT leaders have to be business leaders first.  
• [12:41] Sri shares about Winnebago Industries and who they are. They are known for continuous innovation, quality, and service. 
• [14:32] The pandemic has taught us to get more in touch with our soul and our purpose.  We are all recognizing as humans that there is a lot more to do than work.  
• [17:29] Sri shares his advice for himself at the beginning of his career.  Never lose the curiosity to learn.  Have the curiosity to learn about the business you are in.  Curiosity should not have an expiration date.  
• [19:00] Have the passion, have the curiosity, but also know that you don’t have to put a timeline to that progression. 
• [20:18] Sri shares his best worst boss story. 
• [21:07]  The best bosses give your honest, timely, and open feedback, but they also have your back.   
• [22:29] Having a support system was crucial to him during his worst boss story. 
• [24:12] It is not competition anymore, it is cooperation.  We can provide more value and faster value if we can create those partnerships across ecosystems.  

Links and Resources:

• State of the CIO Podcast Website
• State of the CIO Podcast on Apple Podcasts
• Dan on LinkedIn
• Sri on LinkedIn
• Minnesota Technology Association

Kim Weins is the Vice President of Cloud Strategy at Flexera, where she helps build awareness of its award-winning cloud management solution. She has held executive marketing positions at a variety of enterprise software startups as well as public software companies. Most recently, as Senior Vice President of Marketing at OpenLogic, she helped evangelize and drive demand for open source and cloud technologies at large enterprises worldwide. She has also consulted as interim CMO at a variety of high-growth startups. Kim received a B.S. in engineering from Duke University.

Kim discusses the Flexera 2020 State of the Cloud Report. Kim also shares strategies that companies can use to manage multi-clouds and find and remove cloud waste.

Show Notes:

• [01:01] Kim shares how she got into the enterprise software industry. She is now working closely with CIOs.
• [01:32] 2012 was the first year the State of the Cloud report came out.
• [04:05] Private cloud means to have most of the characteristics of the public cloud in a private data center.
• [06:34] Private cloud was very popular 7 or years ago, really declined, but is now getting new life again.
• [07:06] Today on average companies use 2.2 public clouds. They usually have a primary with 70-80% of their workloads and a secondary with 10 or 20%. As companies get more mature in their cloud use they are more likely to add on that third cloud.
• [07:56] On the private cloud side there is also an average of 2.2 private clouds.
• [09:10] Some clouds don’t require you to use containers.
• [11:06] The most common multi-cloud architecture is data integration. Many companies are doing some data integration between clouds.
• [11:31] One-third of the companies were doing a more sophisticated architecture including work-load mobility between clouds, failover between clouds, or individual applications going between public and private clouds.
• [13:19] 59% of the companies they asked expect their cloud use to be higher due to COVID-19 than what they had planned.
• [13:58] In some industries, their usage of cloud is falling off because they are getting so hammered.
• [14:48] For companies that were on a path to migrate to the cloud, the pandemic has made them accelerate their plans.
• [17:04] Budgets for people migrating to the cloud are growing quickly.
• [19:15] Saving money and optimizing existing cloud usage and costs is the number one initiative in the cloud.  Followed closely by migrating more workloads to the cloud.
• [19:52] Moving to containers can be a cost-saving mechanism because it allows for more efficient use of infrastructure.
• [21:11] If you overprovision in the cloud you will pay more money.  You have to right-size as you move.
• [21:48] Finding and removing storage that was being used and is no longer being used can be a quick win.
• [22:33] People are starting to use more of the discounting mechanisms from the cloud providers.
• [23:45] Buying for your peak to get a bigger discount is the wrong thing to do in cloud management.
• [25:24] You need to think carefully about your commitments. It is important to optimize first and then make your commitment at the right level based on optimized usage and future plans.
• [27:25] Kim’s advice to herself at the beginning of her career would be serendipity is your friend. If you find something you are interested in, work hard, do a good job, and go above and beyond opportunities will arise.
• [28:51] Kim shares her best worst boss story.
• [30:31] Make sure to go check out the State of the Cloud report on the Flexera website.

Links and Resources:

• State of the CIO Podcast Website
• State of the CIO Podcast on Apple Podcasts
• Dan on LinkedIn
• Flexera 2020 State of the Cloud Report
• Flexera
• Kim on LinkedIn

Sammy Basu is the founder of Careful Security.  He helps businesses reduce their CyberSecurity risks without impacting user experience. He uses his experience of working at Fortune 100 companies for the last 20 years to make sure security is seamless. CyberSecurity can be successful only when people adopt and accept it as part of normal business operations.

Sammy shares so much great information and I know you are going to get a great value out of this episode. Sammy shares six key steps that companies should take right now to protect their business.  He also shares many practical and basic steps you can take right now to protect your personal and professional workspaces.  

Show Notes:

• [00:52] Sammy shares how he got into cybersecurity. He started in the early 2000s as a network administrator. 
• [02:21] People attack things that are more widely used.
• [03:34] With security we have to identify the nature of the business.  Security is built on the culture of the company.  
• [06:09] A security professional has to be a creative person. Security is where art and science converge.  There is no particular approach that works for every company. 
• [07:12] You have to segment your personal from your professional.  
• [08:48] Hackers want to do a quick job, so remove the low hanging fruit.  Do the simple things to be secure. 
• [11:02] Sammy encourages the CIOs to extend their help desk support. 
• [11:57] The first step is to secure the human link. 
• [13:51] Security has to be every employee's responsibility.  
• [14:37] The second step is to secure your passwords.  Adopt a password manager and multi-factor identification. 
• [17:10] Sammy is strongly against having your web browser remember your passwords. 
• [19:26] Security is an exercise in risk management.  Put in controls according to your assets.  
• [22:24] Not securing legacy pieces of software with the same level of security can be an easy back door. 
• [23:53] Scan your assets continuously for potential vulnerabilities and have a process in place for triaging what the scanner finds. 
• [24:25] Security is built out of three parts.  It is people, processes, and technology. The first step is to understand the business.  
• [26:06] Companies are not proactively investing in security because they think it is an additional cost.  
• [27:15] There are no shortcuts.  You have to do the hard work and don’t burn bridges.  Be nice to people.  
• [28:36] A key trend Sammy is seeing is cybersecurity becoming part of every area of our lives.  Watch the news to be aware of the type of attacks that are happening.
• [30:13] Sammy shares his best worst boss story.
• [30:52] Have a boss that looks out for your interests and has the best for you in mind.
• [32:12] Dan shares one of his best worst boss stories. 
• [34:41] It is important to get away from your regular environment. It will reduce your stress in half and get fresh ideas in your head.  

Links and Resources:

• State of the CIO Podcast Website
• State of the CIO Podcast on Apple Podcasts
• Dan on LinkedIn
• Careful Security
• Sammy on LinkedIn
• Have I Been Pwned?

Scott Howitt has over 30 years of experience in aligning information technology (IT) with business strategies and initiatives. He is experienced and successful in both Fortune 100 and internet start-up environments.

Scott shares so much great information about cybersecurity and technology.  We talk about ways to be more informed about cybersecurity threats and where to start with protecting your businesses.  Scott shares about the importance of cybersecurity with many people still working from home because of COVID-19.   

Show Notes:

• [01:07] Sometimes cybersecurity is for protecting against annoying threats and sometimes it is for protecting against catastrophic threats.  
• [01:21] Scott shares how he got into the IT world.  He started in physics and moved into the IT world.  
• [03:42] Often we don’t realize the importance of security until we have our first security incident.  
• [05:12] Security needs to be baked into good engineering because that way it is not something you are thinking about as you are developing and modifying it later on.  
• [06:13] First, it is important to know your business.  
• [07:57] As you’re looking at security within your organization, your job is to help keep revenue flowing and make sure they can meet their business objectives as much as it is protecting the data. 
• [08:28] If the cash isn’t flowing, we all suffer.   
• [10:02] Be informed about what is going on in your industry right now, but also be knowledgeable across different industries.  What they are experiencing now may affect your company down the road.   
• [11:10] With COVID-19 many 3 year plans were turned into 3-week plans.  
• [13:49] Scott is seeing increased productivity with his team working from home.  They are actually working on finding ways to help their employees disconnect more.  
• [15:02] Conversation with peers is always needed.  Many teams are having Zoom lunches and Happy Hour to facilitate these conversations.  
• [17:54] Now when people come into the workplace and are handed technology the technology is not as good as they have at home. Employees are going to find what technology works best for them.  
• [18:47] People are going to want to use the technology that is most convenient. 
• [19:21] The cloud is where all security is moving to and we need to incorporate it.  
• [21:15] Universities can’t teach you current technology and keep up so go take a Renaissance education.  
• [21:46] If you want to be seen as a contributor to the game, you have to be able to talk technology but you also have to be able to understand the business.   
• [22:01] If you don’t understand the business you can’t be a good CSO because how do you know you are protecting the right thing.  
• [23:14] Scott shares his best worst boss story.
• [25:36] Scott reads 50-100 books a year. You always have to be educating yourself. 
• [25:59] As Americans, we need to learn to get a heck of a lot scrappier than we are today. We need to be vivacious learners and not rest on our past accomplishments.  

Links and Resources:

• State of the CIO Podcast Website
• State of the CIO Podcast on Apple Podcasts
• Dan on LinkedIn
• Scott on LinkedIn
• Scott on Twitter
• AI Super Powers Book

Today we have Patrick McClory joining us. Patrick is the founder and CEO of IntrospectData. He brings a great deal of experience and expertise across multiple industries. He has focused a lot on artificial intelligence and machine learning. 

Patrick has been writing code, managing DevOps, and designing scalable application infrastructures for over ten years. Before founding IntrospectData, he served as a Sr. Consultant for Amazon Web Services, a Platform Engineer with DataPipe, CTO of DualSpark, and more. 

Patrick shares so much great information about data, AI, ML, and technology in general.  We talk about remote working, tools for better efficiency, and ethics in AI and ML.   We specifically talk about the misconceptions and steps for getting started using AI. He has so many great insights. 

Show Notes:

• [01:06] Patrick started his experience in software engineering and as cloud became a thing he found his home there.
• [02:33] He found the software world was fascinating to him. He thought he was going to be a doctor when he went to college and he ended up with a degree in psychology.
• [04:19] He is always interested in the cutting edge, but also looking to find how to apply that cool new idea into real-world value.
• [06:25] CIOs often become so engrossed in internal operations that they fail to see the opportunities to manage cost and drive forward.
• [07:54] We get so focused on cost control and providing services that we forget that we are trying to run a business.
• [09:59] You have to be hands-on with your customers either internally or externally to understand how to make good decisions.
• [12:24] Shadow IT is a leading indicator of what your users want.
• [14:44] The problem with working remotely isn’t technical, it is about getting people comfortable working in a collaborative environment from home.
• [15:39] You have to make it that when people make a mistake it is not the end of the world. You can do this socially or technically.
• [17:07] Patrick’s company uses Google apps connected with Zoom and Slack. It is important to have a tool that does immediate communications.
• [19:04] People still want to feel that connection.  They want to feel like they are part of the mission of the organization.
• [21:57] They are really chipping away at the amount of time and confidence that a company has to make decisions faster than anyone else.
• [23:51] There is not a whole lot of positive useful AI. There is fear around what AI could be doing and what it looks like.
• [25:44] Regulation is usually five years behind innovation.
• [26:33] Financial services have been leading the forecasting and predictive analytics space for years.
• [28:32] Many industries don’t have the budget or bench to speculate about different technologies.
• [29:50] Often organizations can’t get out of their own way.
• [31:15] From a science and engineering perspective we can do lots of cool things, but from a marketing perspective we are not ready for something that is bigger.
• [33:12] Until it is easy to understand people are still going to be wary of AI even if it does produce great results.
• [36:29] Patrick’s advice is to continue to exercise being curious in work and life in general.
• [38:10] Think outside of your space and take that first step.
• [39:11] Patrick shares his best worst boss story.
• [42:12] Organizations looking at AI at a technical level need to be focused on getting their house in order.  Getting your data ready for AI and ML is step one.

Links and Resources:

• State of the CIO Podcast Website
• State of the CIO Podcast on Apple Podcasts
• Dan on LinkedIn
• Patrick on LinkedIn
• Patrick on Twitter
• IntrospectData
• Slack
• Zoom

Tom’s trusted reputation as a leader in the industry has been achieved through a naturally influential and charismatic style coupled with the dedication to delivering a promised vision through the implementation of a robust business strategy. Identifying a strong need for digital transformation in the AEC industry, Tom joined Keross in 2020 to combine his talents and deep industry knowledge with Keross’ advanced digital capability. He is passionate about advocating for firms to gather and leverage their data effectively to derive such value as to provide a clear competitive advantage.

We had a great conversation. Tom shares so much great information about consolidating data so that companies can act on the data and achieve their intended outcome. He also shares some key things leaders should be doing to implement a curiosity centered environment driven by data. 

Show Notes:

• [00:26] Tom Hasker is the CEO of Keross. He has over 24 years of management and development experience in multiple industries.
• [01:04] Tom shares why he chose the construction industry. 
• [03:17] He has been with Keross for 4 months and is new to the technology industry. 
• [04:05] Service-based industries tend to be slow on the technology curve. 
• [04:35] The starting point is to look at the workflows that exist in your service offerings. Any serviced based outcome is delivered through some form of workflow. 
• [04:54] The process of documenting these workflows helps you understand the elements of those workflows that can be delivered or enhanced through technology. 
• [05:27] If you capture the organization’s delivery methodology and then you combine that with access to historic and real-time information now they can be brought together and the value you can drive is very exciting. 
• [08:21] Organizations need to consolidate their data into a single system that allows them to act upon the data. 
• [10:45] The next challenge is how we orchestrate the data that exists across this value chain. 
• [12:06] In most buildings or infrastructure projects you can fall into the trap of also breaking the life cycle of that project into two granular pieces. 
• [14:24] The philosophy behind orchestration is the automation of data-driven processes from end to end. It includes preparing data, making decisions based on that data, and then taking actions based on those decisions. 
• [16:02] We are not able to get the most out of systems when they operate independently. 
• [17:45] Technology is able to improve collaboration by providing a collaboration space where data can be collaborated on.
• [20:34] Start by standing back and looking at the process and consolidating all the information. Then look at the KPI’s the business is using and try to consider how that process can be automated. 
• [20:47] More businesses should be working on real-time data. 
• [21:37] Once you start this process you will look at things through a different lens and begin to notice opportunities for automation and orchestration all over the place. 
• [23:41] Tom is watching how the big contractors and the big engineering firms are trying to come together and develop a new way of working. 
• [25:26] The industry can really benefit from transparency and sharing of data and information. 
• [26:42] Industries like construction and agriculture could learn from other manufacturing industries including the automotive industries. 
• [28:52] Industry bodies have a big role in bringing the industries together and helping them to evolve and innovate in what they do. 
• [30:08] Specializing too soon in one’s career can blinker one’s view of what is really important in an industry. 
• [32:50] For me at the end of the day, it is about leaving no value on the table. Everybody is extracting all of the value that can be extracted out of the process and outcome.
• [33:18] If you are going into the technology space, it is critical that you understand the operations of the business. 
• [33:58] Diverse perspectives are incredibly important across industries. 
• [34:15] Take a business-first approach and understand the business process and intended outcome before you rush to understand the technical solution.
• [34:56] It is very important to create curiosity in your organization around how things can be improved and how things can be done better. Then you are going to create an environment of continual improvement. 
• [36:09] Tom shares his best worst boss story. 

Links and Resources:

• State of the CIO Podcast Website
• State of the CIO Podcast on Apple Podcasts
• Dan on LinkedIn
• Tom on LinkedIn

On our kick-off episode for season two we have a wonderful guest with us today, Ralph Loura. Ralph is the SVP and CIO at Lumentum.  He has over 25 years of experience as an IT leader. 

Ralph Loura is Lumentum’s Senior Vice President IT and Chief Information Officer. Loura joined Lumentum in October 2018 with a rich history of senior IT leadership where he directed IT organizations executing programs in business intelligence, operations, and customer relationship management. Before Lumentum, Loura has served over 25 years as an IT leader with premier companies in technology and consumer products including Rodan + Fields, Hewlett-Packard (HP) Enterprise Group, Clorox, Symbol Technologies, Cisco, and Lucent Technologies

We had a great conversation. Ralph shares a phrase he uses with his team about being a lens and what that means as an IT leader.   He also shares some key things leaders should be doing and the current initiatives his company is trying to tackle.  

Show Notes:

• [00:50] Ralph has served for over 25 years as an IT leader. 
• [02:43] He really feels privileged to have spent time in multiple different roles, different scales, and different industries. 
• [03:29] Be a lens, not a mirror. By that I mean, don’t simply reflect back what the company wants, anyone can do that. You’re not adding a lot of value. 
• [04:44] Being a lens is taking different experiences, focusing on a problem, and bringing a unique perspective instead of simply just echoing back what the business is asking for directly.   
• [05:32] Many people in IT have great opinions, but they sit quietly because the business is supposed to be in charge.  
• [06:27] If you want a seat at the table pull up a chair and start contributing. 
• [08:37] All these dramatic changes have happened in IT in a very short amount of time. 
• [09:16] As leaders there are some key things we should be doing.  First, stay really connected with the business.  
• [11:41] It is really important to understanding your spend management and be really close to the details so you can see opportunities.   
• [12:01] It is important to understand your people and their capabilities so you can put them in the best place. 
• [14:05] They work hard to ensure they have a culture in IT where they share their challenges early and they are not afraid to ask for help.
• [16:01] They care a lot and invest a lot in the relationships in their community.  When he connects with his team through one on ones they take time to connect on a personal level. 
• [18:17] Ralph goes through the IT dashboard at least once a month with the CEO so he understands the complexity, volume, and struggles IT is having.  
• [21:28] If you keep people up to date and bring them along on the way, it is a lot easier than trying to have a crash course in IT in the half-hour you have to try and get them to fund you.  
• [22:39] One of their big initiatives is a global manufacturing execution platform that builds a consistent set of processes, tools, and data.
• [23:16] Most manufacturing companies have the perpetual problem of forecast and planning and trying to predict what is going to happen so they can be more efficient in the way they build and respond to it.   
• [24:37] They are also working on many infrastructure projects around modernizing the way their footprint sets. 
• [24:48] The infrastructure projects are probably technically more complex, but it is usually the easiest one to do.  Anything involving changing peoples’ behavior is the hardest.
• [26:27] One of the things he started doing 10-15 years ago that he didn’t do at the beginning of his career was to spend more time helping and engaging with others.  
• [28:15] Ralph shares his best worst boss story.  
• [30:41] It is often hard to break away from the pull of the past to do something different.  
• [31:20] Start by looking at the five things that are most important for the future of your company. Then take the best five people you can’t afford to lose and assign them to those five tasks.  

Links and Resources:

• State of the CIO Podcast Website
• State of the CIO Podcast on Apple Podcasts
• Dan on LinkedIn
• Ralph on LinkedIn
• Ralph on Twitter
• Who’s Got Your Back  
• Escape Velocity

An IT strategy is crucial for businesses to provide an overall direction and plan for the business.  In this episode, Jim Maholic talks about how to create an IT strategy and the importance of evaluating your current state and planning for a high-performing future state.

Jim Maholic has 30 plus years in IT leadership and is an Amazon bestselling author. He has consulted with many of the largest and most prestigious companies in North and South America across numerous industries. Jim’s career has included two stints as a CIO, executive positions with Big Four and regional consulting firms, and leadership roles with enterprise software companies. His professional focus has been developing IT strategies that align with clients' core strategic business objectives.

Jim is a really insightful and fascinating guy. We had a great conversation. He shares practical strategies a company or enterprise can take to get started with IT strategy. Be sure to check out Jim’s books, IT Strategy and Business Cases that Mean Business for more information on creating an IT strategy. 

Show Notes:

• [00:26] Jim Maholic has 30 plus years in IT leadership and is an Amazon bestseller.   
• [01:32] For the last 20 years, he has helped companies and clients start from square one and build an IT strategy.  
• [03:51] He started sports photography as a hobby and then became very involved shooting West Virginia and Pittsburgh Steelers games.  
• [05:08] The first steps of an IT strategy are drawing up your current environment. Most businesses are starting with something.   
• [05:58] Once a business lays out their current state, next they need to understand what is the driver of the strategy.  
• [06:39] Get an idea of the future state based on what is driving it from a business standpoint.  
• [07:10] Next, they need to put together the roadmap to help them get there.  They may need a vendor or a consultant to give feedback on the roadmap.  
• [07:31] Too many strategies omit a section called assumptions and risks, and this is a very important part.  
• [08:54] Drawing up the current state is so vital because once you lay this strategy out several steps down the road you are going to put a price tag on that.  
• [11:26] Understanding your current state is a fundamental key to build on your IT strategy.  
• [12:10] You need to prioritize what is most important for phase one. 
• [15:08] These strategies can help IT leaders become business leaders and help the IT leaders get into the business discussions.  
• [17:14] Jim recommends conducting workshops to educate business leaders on the IT side of the business.  
• [18:27] Once you know what you need then do some research.  There are probably a few vendors that already do what you want to do pretty well.  Invite the vendors in to give a demonstration.  
• [19:26] Businesses typically use 3-5 year IT strategies. He strongly recommends once a quarter or at least once a year you reevaluate and recalibrate if necessary.  
• [20:04] If something comes up that interferes with the strategy you have to be willing to tweak or possibly even pivot a lot.  
• [21:51] There are three components to good change management: communication, discipline, and leadership. 
• [23:40] People may say that they like change, but nobody likes to be told to change.  Communication is vital.  
• [24:42] People are the key to your success.  
• [26:23] All of us are working fundamentally for a paycheck.  So helping your people understand why you are changing is crucial.  
• [27:49] This is a great time to be a CIO. It is an exciting time.  

Links and Resources:

• State of the CIO Podcast Website
• State of the CIO Podcast on Apple Podcasts
• Dan on LinkedIn
• IT Strategy
• Business Cases that Mean Business
• Jim on LinkedIn

Bill Schmarzo is regarded as one of the top Digital Transformation influencers on big data and data science. His career spans over 30 years in data warehousing, BI and advanced analytics before joining Hitachi Vantara, Bill served as CTO of Big Data at Dell EMC and VP of Analytics at Yahoo! 

He is the author of “The Art of Thinking Like a Data Scientist,” “Big Data: Understanding How Data Powers Big Business” and “Big Data MBA: Driving Business Strategies with Data Science.” Bill has a Bachelor's degree in math, computer science and business administration from Coe College and his MBA from the University of Iowa. He is an avid blogger and in 2019 was ranked the #4 Big Data influencer, #4 Data Science, and #6 Digital Transformation influencer worldwide by Onalytica.

Bill is a fascinating and really insightful guy. We had a great conversation. He shares steps and practical advice you can use to integrate big data into your business and make huge transformations. Armed with the insights from big data, companies can improve customer experience and products, add value, and increase return on investment.

Show Notes:

• [00:28] Bill Schmarzo is the Chief Innovation Officer for Hitachi Vantara.
• [00:43] This episode is really going to be focused on big data, what you do about it, and how you get people’s heads wrapped around it.
• [01:17] Most organizations don’t have an appreciation for data as a source of innovation.
• [02:47] Bill’s turning point for his appreciation of data was when he was at Yahoo.
• [04:25] Big data has allowed organizations to change their role as business leaders.
• [05:41] Data is an asset to be exploited and help drive organization and business initiatives.
• [07:10] The value of data is how you use it. Start with your company’s business and strategic initiatives for the next 12 months.
• [07:43] How can the data I have help accomplish what is important in our business?
• [09:23] When you bring the data science process into it the decisions haven’t changed, but the answers have changed.
• [10:07] The first mistake companies make is not focusing on what is important for the business.
• [10:43] Empower the front lines people that are close to the action.
• [13:14] They build their analytic solution cores one use case at a time. They go through a process to decide the data sets they need for that particular case.
• [16:06] Analytic modules are an asset that don’t depreciate with use, instead they actually appreciate in value.
• [18:21] Companies want analytic modules that they can quickly deploy and that learn and grow with their unique data.
• [20:07] Gain organizational consensus on the high-priority use cases to go after.
• [21:14] Next they do a proof of value, proving they can actually deliver value and solve the problem.
• [22:42] The digital media marketing, financial services and retail have big opportunities. Healthcare and industrial companies are trying to catch up as well.
• [23:16] If you don’t have a culture of collaboration this doesn’t work.
• [23:35] Don’t overcomplicate it. Keep it simple. It will get complicated enough.
• [24:01] At the end of the day, the only people that are actually creating value are the customers and the customer’s customers.
• [24:36] Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. You have to be fearless. Fear is only failure if you don’t learn from it. If you’re not failing enough, you're not pushing the edges or trying hard enough.

Links and Resources:

• State of the CIO Podcast Website
• State of the CIO Podcast on Apple Podcasts
• Dan on LinkedIn
• Hypothesis Development Canvas
• Bill on Twitter
• Bill on LinkedIn
• Big Data MBA: Driving Business Strategies with Data Science
• Big Data: Understanding How Data Powers Big Business
• The Art of Thinking Like a Data Scientist