CIOs becoming cloud integrators, survey suggests

The Hudson ICT Leaders Series report – Cloud, BYOD & Teleworking: Mastering the Skills Mix for Today’s IT Function – polled a diverse group of senior executives across the Asia Pacific region for their opinions on “user-driven technologies” such as flexible working, bring-your-own-device and social media.

The report found that 43 percent of respondents’ organisations are using the cloud to deliver services. More than half of organisations (52 percent) provide flexible working arrangements for some employees and just over a third (38 percent) have introduced a flexible device usage policy.

Almost two-thirds of organisations use social media as a promotional tool and it is increasingly being used as an internal communications tool. Trends in cloud computing and social media were generally viewed as beneficial with 54 percent of respondents stating productivity was enhanced, while 57 percent felt that innovation was also improving, according to Hudson ICT.

More than half (52 percent) of respondents bring their own smartphone to work, while 24 percent bring their own tablet to work.

A New Zealand-based respondent, Christchurch City Council IM&CT unit manager Gavin Till, says he sees the IT function taking on the role of an integrator, pulling the various providers and services together.

“Moving forward, there might be multiple cloud solutions and part of our job will be to ensure all solutions integrate together without impacting the business,” Till says.

CIOs interviewed understood the crucial difference between filling a vacancy and evaluating candidates to identify high performers, according to Hudson ICT.

Many have identified core performance drivers beyond pure technical skills and deploy techniques such as job trials, intelligence and personality testing, and behavioural-based interviewing, says Hudson ICT.