How the Cloud’s Molding the Next-Generation CIO

Joe McKendrick, writing for Forbes, offered an interesting take on how CIOs and their IT departments, at least those who embrace the change the cloud has brought to IT, directly benefit from cloud adoption. McKendrick writes:

But rather than replace IT jobs, cloud may be having another effect. In many cases, it is elevating the role of IT-savvy managers within many enterprises. … IT is no longer just a department full of people who code, build and maintain systems. IT is the business partner that plans and strategizes what types of technology solutions the business needs to move forward.

While this piece posted back in October, it’s still a great guide to the strategic value cloud-savvy IT employees can bring to the enterprise. For IT, it’s not longer about simply keeping the server lights on. These days, a CIO needs to think differently. Outsourced call centers are a reality, and soon, outsourced cloud apps will be, too. This shift will allow businesses to focus precious resources on their core business and their customers, rather than upgrading on-premise servers.

Of course, none of this is bad news for IT leaders — well, at least for those who accept change. Their role has just shifted to empowering employees and giving them secure access to the apps they want and need – anytime, anywhere and on any device. And that’s a good thing. But for this to work, cloud apps needs to be secure — and that’s where modern IT (and Okta) come in.