CIOs can learn a lot of baseball professionals – CIO

The CIO of the San Francisco Giants opened the team through innovative technologies new possibilities, continue to develop
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What can CIOs in companies from the US learn professional baseball league? Lots. Finally moves here with the San Francisco Giants one of the most innovative sports teams in the world on the pitch. The team has won in the past decade, three times the World Series. As a pioneer in the use of HD video technology, mobile content, modern ticketing and payment solutions and analytics tools for steady improvement of performance on the pitch, the Giants also permanently working on new ideas.

Add the meanwhile 16 years where Bill Schlough as CIO of the San Francisco Giants on board, he has positioned technology in strategic heart of the club and formed a powerful team, which regularly deals with innovations, this introduces and makes available for the team. The results of these years of work are paying off now not only on a sporting level: The fans of the Giants feel the dynamics in their relationship with the team and the game operation also significantly

Also, the role of technology and the CIO in enterprises. is facing a paradigm shift. New technologies increase continuously the frequency of change, the competitive pressure is growing rapidly, volatility determines the business environment. In this dynamic scenario simple technological implementation is no longer sufficient, rather the digitization calls for real innovation managers. This will make the role of the CIO in the future. Innovation must not be longer considered as a hobby, which one pursues, if time permits. It is a core component of any business

CIOs must do both just:. Provide IT resources for new services while retaining technological innovation agenda in mind. Companies need more than ever a research playground. Only on such a “training ground”, the IT department new technologies, their disruptive effects on existing business, but also their potential for growth investigate into new digital markets – and even more so: to establish a common culture of innovation

This is. all the more necessary because of the innovation process in the context of new markets, digital products and services, as well as emerging technologies from the entirely different, what companies already well-known. Behind this is far more than the selective upgrading of existing products or operational structures. Leading CIOs therefore do primarily by three key features out:

• In the identification of new business and technology trends, they rely on numerous, sometimes unorthodox Sources. Many insights come from already crowd-funded start-up companies, bloggers, venture capital companies or even the numerous innovation labs around the globe – from Silicon Valley through Tel Aviv to Beijing. Leading IT specialists are here not only on the cutting edge of these innovations – they also question specifically and examine their actual potential with techniques such as Value Chain Disruption Analysis. This puts them in the role of innovation partner for the company’s strategy.

• Another feature of CIO Excellence are innovation platforms. How can changes in the market and the customer needs to be better studied than many real experience? Via appropriate platforms can be developed and analyze and adjust their impact both for the operative business as well as for low-threshold test IT products and services. Digital Technology is here to catalyst. Whether cloud computing, APIs, rapid prototyping through the crowd, collaboration tools for external and internal partners or software virtualization – even large companies can in such a setting develop real start-up grades and run faster than ever products to market. ” / p>

• Finally, leading companies are distinguished by another key aspect: They establish a common portfolio management for business and technology. Just as investment, resources and talents necessary to be channeled to promote innovations in the organization structure. The CIO is doing due to its portfolio management tools for linchpin. Like a coach on the sidelines he allow the right balance between innovative projects and drives new business opportunities ahead – from the initial idea to the finished product

Sure -. The San Francisco Giants are on a entirely different playing field than active companies. Their example shows that organizations advance to a whole new level of innovation with the right roles for technology and thus can unleash new growth.