Technology is evolving. The continuous cycle of innovation is leading to a change, where costs of 3D Printing, Drones and other technologies have come down drastically over the past decade.

We are going to witness tremendous changes in our organizations and how do we do business due to these technological disruptions. The CIO plays a key role in facing up o these challenges and changes facing an enterprise. The external changes include changes in value creation models and how business and the ecosystem is changing. The CIO has to step-up and support the CEO in these changing times.

New equations, new customer experiences and partnerships are in the offing.

Look at Netflix partnering with BBC. Or, GE looking at software services, working with partners. The question is whether to innovate alone, or work in partnership with others. In such a evolving world, the CIO has to play a much bigger role.

The internal changes includes CIOs going beyond responding to technologies, and rather facing up to integrating customer experiences. To make digital happen, the CIO also has to go beyond evangelizing digital, and addressing talent pool. The CIO has to build capacities within the organization, using technology to train people online, offline, internally and externally.

Digital haves and have nots within the enterprise also have to be bridged. The CIO has to ensure the talent pool within the enterprise is in sync when it comes to technology. As Peter Drucker said, Culture will eat strategy for lunch. When we say Technology Culture, we mean the culture of being agile, innovative, fast.

The CIO has to go beyond being just a technology champion, but rather facing up to all enterprise challenges. That will decide the difference between winners and losers in the Digital Age.

(First published in CIOL)