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What are the new business models CIOs should look at?

As the implications of digitization play out, enterprises must shift to platform thinking in terms of their business models to survive

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Sonal Desai
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MUMBAI, INDIA: As the implications of digitization play out, enterprises must shift to platform thinking in terms of their business models, delivery mechanisms, talent and leadership to survive and thrive, according to a global survey of CIOs by Gartner.

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According to a new Gartner report, titled, Building the Digital Platform: The 2016 CIO Agenda, average CIO expects digital revenue to grow from 16 percent to 37 percent of total revenue in the next five years. Similarly public-sector CIOs are predicting a rise from 42 percent to 77 percent in digital processes.

Some of the key findings include:

•    Create a bimodal delivery platform: In 2014, Gartner said that it is essential to have two modes of IT to deal with both predictable and exploratory work.

Two years later, the 2016 CIO survey found that almost 40 percent of CIOs are on the bimodal journey, with the majority of the remainder planning to follow in the next three years. The evidence is that building a mature bimodal platform results in much better digital strategy performance.

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Those who are planning to move toward bimodal, but have not taken steps yet, came out worst in terms of digital strategy performance.

•    Evolve the talent platform: According to the survey, 65 percent of CIOs believed there is a talent crisis in the world, and yet there is surprisingly little talent innovation.

Since virtually all stakeholders recognize the issue of talent as the biggest barrier to success, Gartner believes that talent must also be treated as a platform.

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•    Build a leadership platform: The survey found that nearly 40 percent of CIOs are the leaders of digital transformation in their enterprise, and more than 30 percent are the innovation leader.

The survey also showed that penetration of the chief digital officer role has stalled at 9 percent, the same as last year. The results show that CIOs are being given the opportunity to lead digital transformation, but they must adapt their leadership style to exploit platform effects in leadership, building a network of digital leadership inside and outside the enterprise.

"Leading economists have noted the increasing prevalence of platform business models, where multiple networks of stakeholders bring value to each other by exploiting network effects," said Graham Waller, Research Vice President, Gartner. "Technologists have long recognized the power of platform approaches to information and technology architecture. What is new is that platform dynamics are being applied to create value in all aspects of the business."

"It is time to think of talent as a platform and innovate with it. CIOs must look at digital talent beyond the boundaries of the IT organization, and indeed beyond the boundaries of the enterprise," said Dave Aron, Vice President and Gartner Fellow.

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