Ahead of the marcus evans Australian CIO Summit 2023, Anupam Singh discusses the value that the IT function can bring on board

1. Interview with: Anupam Singh,
Director, Acute Professional
Services
“When CIOs take the time to under-
stand the organisational pain points,
user base and goals, and enable people
to achieve those goals, the IT function
will be considered as an enabler and not
an overhead. They must consult the
right people and consider how technolo-
gies impact different departments, but
not all CIOs are investing the time and
effort they need to,” says Anupam
Singh, Director, Acute Professional
Services.
Acute Professional Services is a sponsor
company at the upcoming marcus
evans Australian CIO Summit 2023.
How can CIOs make sure the IT
function is seen as an enabler and
not an overhead?
If the IT function helps people achieve
organisational objectives via technology,
it will be considered an enabler.
Whether the goal is to improve
customer experience, reduce overheads
via automation or generate additional
revenue by providing a better user
experience, it is the CIO’s responsibility
to provide good technology and good
processes so they can achieve those.
CIOs need to understand what is
happening in the organisation, and
choose the right tools for people to
utilise.
How can CIOs ensure their user
base is ready for the changes they
are planning to implement?
It all comes down to understanding the
demographics of the user base. What
type of users are they? Are they tech
savvy? Can they utilise a new tool
efficiently? Are they used to doing a lot
of manual work? Will customers,
vendors or partners be dealing with the
technology? How your user base
interacts with technology and tools is
also a major consideration. What kind of
obstacles might there be if the tool is
implemented? Create champions for
change.
Should CIOs focus more on technol-
ogies that works for similar
businesses or implement all new
technologies?
It could be a combination of both. Many
companies embark on a journey to
replicate what similar businesses may
have done and implement technologies
that have worked elsewhere, without
doing what we discussed earlier. First,
they must understand who they are
enabling it for, and what they are trying
to enable. The technology conversation
comes second. That will allow them to
determine if they need to focus on
existing technologies they might not be
utilising properly, or if a brand new tool
(with high implementation costs) will
reap better benefits in the long run.
Many CIOs are not very technical which
is a good thing because they can bring
another perspective to the role. The
problem however is, that every
organisation is like an organism that
works differently, so unless they have a
pulse on the operations of their
organisation, they will need guidance
when making those technological
choices. The majority of technology
decisions are made at the top and get
funnelled down to the bottom. What is
the harm in spending some time and
effort consulting people and using those
understandings to source the right
technology?
I often see organisations signing five-
year deals to get a good discount on a
new technology, but once they roll it
out, they realise they need customisa-
tion and the costs just creep up. They
get stuck. Another issue is that these
technologies are sold with the promise
that they can integrate the client’s
entire ecosystem into one platform,
which means they will be dependent on
one vendor. Once the investment is
made, there is no backing out.
Sometimes the tool isn’t enough, and
they decide to keep some of their legacy
systems. That just doubles their costs.
Such transformations need to be
managed properly. It doesn’t hurt to
invest time earlier on, on understanding
if they really need the technology and
what benefits it will provide. Fifteen
years ago, CIOs would spend months
assessing each tool but they don’t do
that anymore. Even when they do, they
do not necessarily engage the right
people who can provide the guidance
they need.
What opportunities are CIOs not
making the most of?
They are not taking advantage of the
true agile methodology. Sometimes
they implement agile left, right and
centre for the sake of simplifying things
but it doesn’t work at the bottom level.
People get confused. Why would sales
go agile? Agile works best if you adapt
the methodology to suit your organisa-
tional culture and demands, rather than
changing your organisational culture to
suit what’s written in the book.
Cyber security is another interesting
area. Over the years, organisations
collected billions of data sets in the
hope of understanding and serving their
customers better. But now cyber threat
is causing them more pain and cost
than ever before.
It all comes down
to understanding
the demographics
of the user base
How the IT Function Can Enable the
Organisation to Achieve its Goals

2. The Information Technology
Network - marcus evans
Summits deliver peer-to-peer
information on strategic matters,
professional trends and
breakthrough innovations.
Please note that the Summit is a
closed business event and the
number of participants strictly
limited.
About the Australian CIO Summit 2023
The Australian CIO Summit aims to foster innovative thinking, share inspiring ideas,
and promote community connections. Our continuing mission is to curate an
engaging programme featuring visionary keynote presentations, real-life case
studies and interactive forums delivered by compelling speakers and expert
moderators. To achieve this vision we choose our collaborators with great precision
– we seek out professionals who have deep expertise and hands-on experience, and
can present cutting-edge insights that spark conversation.
www.september23.australianciosummit.com
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About Acute Professional Services
Acute Professional Services (APS), is an Australian company specialising in Professional domains such as Business Analysis, Project
Management, IT Consulting and more.
The company was established in the year 2014 by a few like minded professionals who wanted to deliver great value to their clients
through close collaboration and fast delivery models. Since then the company has grown steadily by establishing its clientele within
Telecommunications and the Government sectors.
With various disciplines of IT Consulting at the core of our skills and values, we are very well positioned to tackle your business
challenges.
www.acuteservices.com.au
About marcus evans Summits
marcus evans Summits are high level business forums for the world’s leading decision-makers to meet, learn and discuss
strategies and solutions. Held at exclusive locations around the world, these events provide attendees with a unique opportunity to
individually tailor their schedules of keynote presentations, case studies, roundtables and one-to-one business meetings.
For more information, please visit: www.marcusevans.com
To view the web version of this interview, please click here:
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