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Innovation CouncilThe Real Deal

On the New Awesomeness of CIOs

By July 17, 2018December 31st, 2018No Comments

It’s not like running the technology for an enterprise has ever been anything less than awesome, but the vibe at Valor is that we’re entering a new era. At our recent CIO BBQ hosted by Valor’s Innovation Council at Atlanta Tech Park, regional tech leaders dove into some of the issues they’re facing. Here are some of the top takeaways from the event.

  1. Acquire to hire. It’s cheaper, faster and smarter to acquire than to build. CIOs and technology leaders at the enterprise level were united on the fact you can actually buy one or two versions of a software to modify for your own shop less expensively than you can develop it in-house.
  2. Find a way to develop a personal pipeline of new software. Innovation is a practice, not a point in time. One of the leaders shared how repeating patterns, including Valor’s Trial Trailblazer newsletter, help develop a rhythm around innovation.
  3. Keep an open conversation. One of the most valuable ways to get information about new technology is asking other CIOs and tech leaders in your industry what’s working for them. This works best face-to-face, one attendee mentioned. Developing a trusted network of CIOs, like Valor’s Innovation Council and other groups, can help busy leaders separate signal from noise.
  4. Emerging software and enterprise trials are a natural fit. One of my favorite takeaways, of course, was that our Council finds value in emerging software! Several firmly believe that the enterprise is the right place to test it. One of the attendees mentioned how she’s developed an approach to create “micro trials” that reduce risk but give rapid feedback to entrepreneurs. Another talked about how the software they’re running at scale in plants is circa 1980-something, and she’s eager to jump the cycle into next level systems as they surface for her.
  • If you are a founder and you have an emerging software for enterprise companies, see if it’s a fit for our Trial Trailblazer program.
  • If you’re an innovating technology leader at the enterprise level with the ability to personally greenlight a software trial without further approval, consider joining our Council.