CIO CIO

Siemens has agreed to acquire Dotmatics, the developer of a data platform for scientific research, taking it into the life sciences market. Siemens plans to combine Dotmatics’ drug research and development applications with its manufacturing industry expertise to create an AI-powered research-to-manufacturing digital thread for the life sciences vertical, the company said in a slide deck aimed at investors. Rohit K, practice director at Everest Group, said the companies’ combined offering will provide their joint customers with predictive modeling, faster iteration cycles, and stronger regulatory compliance—ultimately accelerating time-to-market. source

On AI use cases: We’re an asset management business, so we’re often looking at the existing condition of assets and then working out how we need to maintain them for the public. One of our innovations has been a solution called Fault IQ, which uses an off the shelf detection product. So in Downer Digital, we don’t always need to build everything ourselves. We’ll use something off the shelf if we can, and then configure it to our database of faults we find as we work on our road corridors. What that means is we’ve got a lot of historical data on road faults, and the historical data, in conjunction with the AI, can then predict whether there’ll be faults in the future. This solution revolutionizes the performance of the rail corridor because it transforms the inspection process. It gives our operators and our maintainers the ability to identify faults quickly, but also to take photos of any in real time and get them off to the operator so they can do something about it. On aligning the overall IT strategy: The Downer Digital strategy has three overarching pillars and 12 strategic programs of work. And those 12 programs align to the business unit strategies as well. So everything we do in the digital strategy is delivering for the businesses and against the Downer strategy. The 12 programs focus on areas where we want to move the needle, and they’ll usually focus on innovation, such as digital twins for some of our customers, or it could be an AI solution that’s supporting safety on one of our road customers. They also support how we uplift our middle office and where we’re looking to get better at utilizing the data we have in our organization to make decisions. And then we’ve got a number of foundational programs of work that look at uplifting our infrastructure, making sure we’ve got flexibility in our cloud solutions. On CIO aspirations: It all depends on where you start your career. You could’ve already taken a route where you’ve got a deep technical skillset, and then as you move on, it’s a given you’re going to have the appropriate skills to undertake the role. For me, it’s about being inquisitive in the tools that can support you driving a business forward from a transformation perspective. So things such as innovative tools, emerging technologies, data and analytics, cloud based solutions — they’re the things we all need to know about, because they make our organizations more efficient, effective, and more flexible. It’s also about mindset: having a can-do attitude and asking the right questions. For any women who wants to come into the CIO world, moving forward from STEM and pushing that is definitely something I do, and I want to make sure other female CIOs do the same. But resilience is a key to working in the IT industry. When you’re a female CIO, it gives you that extra boost when you’ve got to make transformation decisions. source

Data is the foundation of innovation, agility and competitive advantage in today’s digital economy. As technology and business leaders, your strategic initiatives, from AI-powered decision-making to predictive insights and personalized experiences, are all fueled by data. Yet, despite growing investments in advanced analytics and AI, organizations continue to grapple with a persistent and often underestimated challenge: poor data quality. Your role in addressing this challenge is crucial to the success of your organization.   Fragmented systems, inconsistent definitions, legacy infrastructure and manual workarounds introduce critical risks. These issues don’t just hinder next-gen analytics and AI; they erode trust, delay transformation and diminish business value. Data quality is no longer a back-office concern. It’s a strategic imperative that demands the focus of both technology and business leaders.   In this article, I am drawing from firsthand experience working with CIOs, CDOs, CTOs and transformation leaders across industries. I aim to outline pragmatic strategies to elevate data quality into an enterprise-wide capability. These strategies, such as investing in AI-powered cleansing tools and adopting federated governance models, not only address the current data quality challenges but also pave the way for improved decision-making, operational efficiency and customer satisfaction. Key recommendations include investing in AI-powered cleansing tools and adopting federated governance models that empower domains while ensuring enterprise alignment.   source

For companies like Rockwell, this evolution represents an opportunity to integrate edge AI capabilities throughout its product portfolios. The business outcomes from properly managed edge computing are substantial, including affordable access to data, faster software deployments, future-ready analytic platforms, improved security posture, better scaling of digital transformation initiatives, and reduced TCO. The Edge AI Foundation says CIOs and enterprises want automation and smart devices at the edge. “Edge AI is all about running AI workloads where the data is created, and the gravitational pull toward the edge means lower cost, lower power, more impact, typically, and that can also mean enhanced privacy, latency, flexibility, and clearing,” says Pete Bernard, the nonprofit’s CEO, noting that CIOs are in charge of figuring out the information strategy. “You want to move your compute as close as possible to where the data is created, avoid ingress and egress fees to clouds as well as OpEx costs, and have more control over your processing in general.” As platforms and technologies continue to mature, we can expect AI to become increasingly embedded in physical systems across industrial environments. source

A lack of insight AI’s ability to augment employees and executives can extend to business plans, but current models can’t think creatively and generate new insights, adds Ahsan Shah, SVP of AI and analytics at Billtrust, a billing software provider. “AI is great at analyzing data and spotting patterns, but real strategic planning needs an understanding of company culture, relationships, market behavior, and competition that AI doesn’t have yet,” he says. “AI doesn’t know your exact business problem.” Human leadership is still essential because of continuously changing market conditions and because AI output often needs to be fine-tuned, Shah adds. Smart companies “will blend AI’s analytical capabilities with human judgment, creativity, and emotional intelligence — rethinking how work gets done with humans and machines each playing to their strengths,” he says. source

IT Service Management (ITSM) has long been the backbone of operational efficiency in modern businesses. However, as IT demands grow and systems become increasingly complex, IT teams often face challenges when it comes to keeping up. To combat this, many IT leaders are using automation, making processes faster, smarter and much more impactful. ITSM automation can empower organizations to achieve superior efficiency, accuracy, and scalability while improving employee morale and productivity. For IT leaders looking to supercharge ITSM, automation is a powerful tool and implementing it is essential for staying competitive in this fast-evolving digital landscape. Boosting Efficiency and Productivity It’s no secret thatrepetitive IT processes like ticket routing, password resets and permissions management eat up valuable time. Automation transforms these tedious tasks into streamlined workflows, ensuring they get handled efficiently and quickly without any technician intervention. For instance, automation can route IT tickets to the appropriate departments or technicians instantly, allowing IT or other employees to resolve issues faster and preventing the ticket from getting stuck in a queue or backlog. This efficiency fundamentally enhances IT performance and provides an improved service experience across the organization. “We’re lean and mean,” Deborah Rojas, Chief Information Officer for Charter Oak Financial said. Her department supports the IT needs of 300+ financial professionals and nearly 200 other staff with only a handful of full-time employees. With TeamDynamix ITSM, the practice optimization team has created a single point of contact for IT and other types of support – a “one-stop shop” for people to get help. Automated workflows help ensure that IT service tasks are completed in a timely manner, and Rojas and her team have full visibility into the status of service requests—as well as the data they need to measure the team’s effectiveness. Enhancing Employee Morale Supercharging ITSM with automation is about more than just improving service. With automation in place, you can also improve employee morale and retention. Repetitive, monotonous tasks can drain employee morale. Automation eliminates this “toil,” allowing IT staff to focus on intellectually stimulating projects. Employees feel valued and more engaged, which ultimately improves workplace satisfaction. “People feel so much more empowered when they work on challenging tasks rather than repetitive ones,” said Mark Hayes, former IT leader at Pima County. Automation empowers employees by giving them the tools to solve real problems and make impactful contributions. Pima County experienced this shift after implementing TeamDynamix to automate redundant processes. How iPaaS Amplifies ITSM Automation Using an integration platform like iPaaS with your ITSM helps connect disparate systems and simplifies complex processes. Here’s how iPaaS transforms IT operations: Enterprise Integration – Pre-built connectors allow seamless integrations across tools like Active Directory, Slack, Salesforce, Workday, and more. Enterprise-wide automation orchestrates tasks between these systems, unifying your IT environment. Workflow Automation – With a visual, no-code flow builder, TeamDynamix iPaaS empowers IT teams to create workflows faster. For example, automated workflows can handle everything from onboarding employees to resetting user credentials – all with minimal manual input. Optimized Resource Allocation – By eliminating repetitive data entry and manual processing, iPaaS frees up IT staff to focus on strategic initiatives. It reduces integration backlogs, accelerates service delivery and enhances collaboration across departments. Risk Reduction – iPaaS provides IT with heightened security and governance, ensuring compliance by centralizing control over APIs and reducing data silos. Why You Should Automate ITSM Today Automation is no longer an option for IT leaders – it’s a necessity. By incorporating automation into ITSM, you’ll achieve improved efficiency, accuracy and scalability, all while boosting employee satisfaction and morale. The real-world examples outlined above showcase the tangible benefits organizations are already experiencing, proving that the value of automation extends far beyond operational improvements. It’s about strategy, growth and the ability to innovate without constraints. Take the next step and bring the benefits of ITSM automation to your organization. With tools like TeamDynamix, you can start small, automate basic tasks and scale your efforts as your organization evolves. To learn more check out: Supercharging ITSM. Is your company ready to embrace the power of Enterprise Service Management? Explore how adopting ESM can transform your operations and drive business success. source

Anand Deodhar, Group CIO/ Head IT, Force Motors, highlights, “With sustainability at the forefront of business strategy, Chief Sustainability Officers (CSOs) are pivotal to shaping the automotive industry’s future. Their role surpasses mere compliance, driving innovation, efficiency, and corporate responsibility. By integrating data analytics, automation, and green IT initiatives, Force Motors can align digital transformation with ESG goals, ensuring long-term sustainability while driving business growth.” Abhijit Chatterjee, CISO and Sr. Director IT, TCG Lifesciences asserts that Sustainability Officers will be essential, adding that technology teams must collaborate with CSOs to include sustainability into the IT strategy. “This involves improving cloud energy efficiency, implementing green software development, and eliminating electronic waste. The team must cooperate to ensure responsible AI implementation, include carbon accounting into IT decision-making, and promote regulatory compliance.” Vinod Chandnani, CIO, Patel Engineering predicts that Chief Sustainability Officers (CSOs) will become increasingly common as businesses prioritize sustainability and environmental risks dominate the global risk landscape. source