CIO Talk Network Podcast

Back in 1999, Napster put the music industry into the Wild West. With absolutely no regard or rules for intellectual property, music companies have had to find a way over the last decade to deal with the new technology possibilities. Today, 3-D Printing presents similar disruptive threats, but could it also be an opportunity for enterprise IT? How can 3-D Printing be leveraged to directly or indir...

Employees should have the courage and the privilege to live and work not in the way others expect of them but in a way that's true to themselves. This is an idealistic vision across most organizations, but it's not out of the question. Everyone should be able to achieve a healthy balance of success, satisfaction and happiness in their life and work, but do most organizations just give that notion...

The Internet of Things (IoT) is gaining plenty of hype as a game-changing way of thinking for every industry. Those in the manufacturing space view it as a revolution, offering significant improvements to manufacturing processes as a way of making productions more efficient, agile and flexible. But is this all for real? Manufacturing business leaders will want to know which business applications w...

Social media hasn't just empowered today's kids; it has enabled business leaders to more effectively communicate, think strategically and facilitate an agile, responsive organization. But many leaders still harbor perceived fears of security risks if not the danger of losing their jobs. Others just don't think they have the time or the need. What needs to change in order for business leaders to be...

As the threats of APTs deepen and become increasingly difficult to prevent or detect in a timely fashion, CISOs are rethinking the approach to security, pooling their efforts and information to attain better intelligence on how to respond quickly and appropriately to mitigate damage. What we're seeing is Big Data transforming into "Big Intelligence" in the security space, with CISOs aiming toward...

The expectation of IT and the CIO has risen to the point that innovation and finding value outside of operations is a necessity. IT can no longer just allow projects to keep running, but in many cases, working on new ideas to improve simply doesn't fit the resource plan. But what if through Lean Manufacturing inspired principles, IT was able to gain some head room to invest in innovation within IT...

The word "digital" has expanded its definition to touch not just the Internet but mobile, social and local platforms, and the expectation is that digital business strategies must include everything digital. Who will be the agent of change in charge of the entire online business unit? Enter the Chief Digital Officer. Has the need for this role grown out of the conflict between the CIO and CMO? Is i...

Much of a person's emotional intelligence is built on their individual endeavors of self-awareness, self-assessment and self-regulation. The strongest leaders demonstrate, and are expected to contain strong emotional intelligence, but it's less of an expectation of a leader's team, and that leader's behavior doesn't necessarily trickle down. How can a leader instill a culture of "social competence...

The goal of any successful hotel, casino or theme park shouldn't just be to provide their guests with a good time but to truly wow them, helping to improve guest loyalty and anticipate services before the guests know what they even need. The insights attained from Big Data and the visions behind the Internet of Things have the potential to provide visitors with an entirely personalized experience...

Growth is a leading priority for many C-Suites, and yet many companies still struggle to make an impact. We all want market expansion, an enriching customer experience, the capability to predict consumer behavior and create flexible business models while minimizing the effect of such a volatile external environment. But what does it take to identify these opportunities for growth? What is preventi...

Healthcare providers continue to face a wave of information required to maintain regulatory compliance, all while IT workers struggle to lower costs and utilize data to create a more patient-centric approach. But as regulations become more stringent and as standards are either lacking or vary across sources, both data retention and integration become major pain points of frustration, confusion and...

What does it take to build a strong brand? It has to provide consistency, convenience, quality and overall value. A strong brand is one that people can trust. Some departments have been successful in maintaining a consistent presence with business and their end users, but how strong is IT's brand today? Is IT doing what it takes to listen, to deliver, to be visible and to be seen as a catalyst of...

You can't keep doing the same thing and expect a different result, and it's a hard fact that organizations are specifically designed such that they receive consistent results. But if the organization wants change, it requires a change leader who has what it takes to enable a transformation in the internal culture, earn strong executive sponsorship, restructure their organization and better align t...

Over five billion people, nearly two thirds of the world's population, are without Internet access. Attempts to bridge the gap of this Digital Divide have struggled due to poor infrastructure and an inability to generate greater commerce or quality of life. But new innovations with mobility have made it such that people can receive 3G connectivity in places without electricity. So can global Inter...

Kids say the darnedest things. If you took your son or daughter into your office, what questions might they ask? They would ask the simplest questions about why you do what you do, what each tool does and how you go about each process. Would you have good answers for him or her? We often don't stop to ask the fundamental questions that would challenge the status quo. We're too focused on the strat...

Traditionally, cloud has been seen as having major security vulnerabilities. Is it now possible to ensure that corporate and customer data is protected when used over public and private cloud services? What new security policies and architectures actually take advantage of cloud delivery in order to increase the levels of security? Guest: Larry Biagini Title: Chief Technology and Security Officer,...

When IT teams try to rationalize which project to invest in, where to appropriately allocate IT spend and how to respond as business constantly changes, the process put in place is often over-engineered. We see the budget utilized ineffectively and unnecessary delays as we try to standardize everything to find a compromise where both business and staff are happy. It results in the team getting foc...

We aspire to do more, dream more, learn more, and become more, and for better or worse, the traditional wisdom has been that we need to accomplish more in order to get more. But for many, experience, trial and error says differently. We pile on more projects, goals and objectives and lose sight of the one unifying vision that defines us as a company and as leaders. So how can leaders learn to step...

Part of a CIO's job is to instill confidence in your team that you've got everyone's back. Demonstrating that you know what's important to your team and to your business can go a long way toward building productivity, connectivity and a willingness to ascend and grow within the organization. But a leader can't make someone confident, only help people find their confidence. What are the principles...

Cloud Computing, Big Data and mobility arguably share similar intrinsic features such as distribution, and geographical dispersion. How can you utilize these common intrinsic features to invite Big Data and mobility into your organization, leveraging an existing cloud infrastructure, at a low risk, low cost and with high resilience to meet changing business demand? Guest: Wayne Shurts Title: Execu...

We want to be able to promote gender equality within IT just as the world has done so within other industries. Numbers suggest that fewer women entering into science, technology, engineering or math fields that might lead to a leadership role in technology. So it remains important that we identify the state of women in IT and business, what's causing the disparity between men and women and how we...

Great leadership is not about rare moments. It is about daily habits, honest reflection, and the ability to inspire people while staying grounded in reality. In this CIO Talk Network conversation, Jon Walton, CIO for the County of San Mateo, joins Sanjog Aul to share how leaders navigate their day with intention and impact. They discuss: • How leaders shape their day for clarity and focus • Turnin...

For as much as the current generation loves to bash the 20-somethings entering into the workforce and assign clichés about their demeanor and work ethic, the reality is that this group will one day be the industry leaders and is currently among the group leading the charge of a digital revolution. So rather than thinking about what management practices will work best for "them" how can the current...

In planning your application and infrastructure environment, an essential step is to determine their cloud suitability. How do you go about determining that? Since each application and infrastructure element may have its unique provisioning needs, how do you transform or modernize these elements to run on one cloud foundation? Can you plan all this upfront or have to play it by ear as you unearth...

Big Data has exploded as a field, and with it will come a massive flux of new openings within IT organizations. Half the battle is finding the right talent when to some extent these jobs and these skills don't even exist yet, but an equal challenge is in defining the various Big Data roles for your organization and industry given the broad variety of skills and competencies that maintaining Big Da...