In this blog, I share highlights from my conversation with 12 technology executives from some of the world's leading enterprises. We covered four main topics to explore how they drive digital transformation across the enterprise.

Check the list regularly
Emerging technologies including NFTs, the metaverse, and AR/VR are pushing the boundaries of innovation. But true innovation comes from industrialization, not experimentation. That calls for a foundation of people and processes that can support change. It's why the best technology leaders are actually business leaders with technology in their DNA.

When it comes to disrupting, technology leaders are thinking through what to control centrally and what level of innovation to allow at the edge – closest to where the demand lies. Of course, the challenge of integrating new and existing technologies continues, especially regarding interoperability and industry standards.

What's becoming clear is the distinction between a culture of innovation versus a culture of invention. Innovation brings the best external ecosystem capabilities together, riding on the shoulders of others and then focusing on the differentiated added value. This is instead of reinventing all the component pieces – something that can feel good in the short term but over the long run is non-scalable and can dilute the return on your investment.

Reward yourself
In terms of governance, cybersecurity is always a concern. Many leaders are adopting an "isolate first, investigate later" approach – a change from the "find the problem and fix it" method once considered essential, but which now raises concerns around long-term business viability. The everyday focus is on industrialized blocking and tackling, but emergency patching, zero trust networks, and architectural segmentation – including preparation, reporting, and remediation – are key considerations.

Read our CIO report

LEARN MORE

Think positively
Today, board members see technology as a game-changing business enabler instead of a piece of infrastructure. As this view of technology evolves, so do the responsibilities of technology leaders – which is why they're moving from the server room to the boardroom.