DECEMBER 2019CIOAPPLICATIONS.COM9What keeps you up at night when it comes to some of the major predicaments in regards to IT space?Security is one of the major predicaments. The challenge with security is that everyone thinks it is an IT problem and not a people problem. But everyone in the company is responsible for security and as IT leaders, we need to do more to get that message across and keep people educated. People are still the weakest point in this chain, and while we're seeing improvements, there needs to be basic training to familiarize people with threats, and prepare them with skills to prevent an attack. Hackers have become extremely sophisticated and they have nothing but time to perfect their attacks. Phishing scams are becoming ever more complicated and difficult to recognize. Thus for any organization, big or small, information security must be the topmost priority.Can you tell us about the latest project that you have been working on and what are some of the technological and process elements that you leveraged to make the project successful?We've recently implemented a program that uses AI for our help desk, where AI bots help customers solve problems. We are looking to expand that into finance, HR, and different groups. We can use the data from these bots to learn a lot of interesting things about how we can improve our services. We're also exploring microlearning to onboard new employees faster, while also ensuring that continuous coaching occurs throughout the employee's ramp-up. This approach allows new employees to learn as they go, instead of being asked to retain information shared within the first 24-72 hours of their new hire orientation or training. Which are some of the technological trends which excite you for the future of the IT space?For me, I'm most excited about IT's future role within a company. IT teams will be orchestrated across organizations, much like internal consultants that ensure groups have the right training, capabilities, and tools in place. Currently, IT delivers everything, but this new role will distribute efforts throughout the business. For this transfer to be successful, IT teams need to design and prepare for a loss of control while also keeping security and data governance in mind. The exciting thing is we can mobilize companies a lot faster by spreading responsibilities out versus using a controlled IT hierarchy.Would you like to give a piece of advice for the CIO community as to how should they approach this industry?You need to understand that you're running a business and not IT, and approach it from that aspect. We need to move IT at the speed of business, not the other way around. We need to let go of the barriers so that we can focus on building what people need to keep our companies moving forward. Collaborate, innovate and accelerate the business. You need to understand you're running a business and not IT and approach it from that aspect. So, how do we move IT at the speed of business?"Ben Haines
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