Lead a Digital Transformation to Advance Revenue Generation

Keeping the lights on and increasing efficiency used to be at the top of every CIO’s agenda.
Revenue generation is becoming increasingly important for the business, and consequently for IT. Often, the business will externally procure high-value technology services bypassing the internal IT department.
IT departments that aren’t proactive and ignore the revenue mandate will become marginalized.

Our Advice

You, the CIO, can now choose the immediate future of internal IT. The success of IT and your role within the organization depends on you.
The CIO can be forward looking and become the Chief Enterprise Integration Officer. This role will be a business executive with valuable technology insight who will drive the IT-enabled revenue generation program; focus on improving marketing, sales, and service using social, mobile, and analytics; and work closely with executives from marketing, sales, and service.
Alternatively, the CIO can be complacent and become Chief Support Officer, whose IT department will become an order-taking, back-office support function for the business. The CSO will provide information and communications technology support services to the organization, manage and integrate the many IT vendors that business counterparts will be partnering with, and develop and maintain disaster recovery and business continuity planning.
Revenue generation relies on the effectiveness of – and the synergy across – marketing, sales, and service. Internal IT is well positioned to improve this synergy because:

IT has an enterprise-wide, cross-silo perspective.
IT can effectively build, acquire, implement, and support these solutions using its technical expertise.
Internal IT can capitalize on its long-term collaboration and relationship with the business since external IT providers lack close proximity to the business.

The CIO needs to start the conversation with business executives to create an IT-enabled revenue generation strategy and roadmap, using social, mobile, and analytics to improve business capabilities within and across marketing, sales, and service.
Establish a Revenue Generation Steering Committee (CIO, executives from marketing, sales, and service) to direct and monitor revenue-generation initiatives.
Ensure that IT is ready to support revenue-focused initiatives utilizing social, mobile, and analytics.
Measure the business impact of the IT-enabled revenue generation program and communicate contribution to increased revenue.
Alternatively, dust off your resume and start preparing for your not-so-distant job search.