According to the International Data Corporation, by the end of 2017 there will have been a $1.2 trillion spend worldwide on Digital Transformation technologies – this is a 17.8% increase from 2016 . This amount of investment into digital transformation technologies highlights the need for clear ownership within organizations. Enter the CTO.
What is a Chief Transformation Officer (CTO)? How does a CTO fit into shared services? These key questions were on my mind when I recently came across an article by Stanley Chia exploring the emerging role of the CTO.
Not to be confused with a Chief Technology Officer, the CTO is a fast-emerging role dedicated to the ownership of digital transformation within a business, shared services inclusive. Clear ownership of a digital transformation strategy will ensure greater results and ROI, and will enable a business to stay ahead of its peers. The CTO is certainly a role to include and embrace in shared services, as SSOs seek to navigate the digital future. And, while it is a new role in the SSO world, it is one that has already been adopted by major companies such as Beam Suntory and Kerry Group.
We know that shared services has been in a phase of digital transformation for a number of years now. e-Invoicing in shared services, cloud applications, Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and machine learning are just a few examples of how organizations are digitally transforming their back-office processes, to undeniably great effect. Furthermore, the adoption of the CTO role shows;
- A level of maturity within an organization, enabling potential advancement.
- An organization’s readiness to respond to and evolve with the changing environment.
With digital transformation opportunities and projects set to ramp up in volume, sharedserviceslink plans to monitor the CTO role and the job description that goes with it. We will be seeking interviews with CTOs, so if you organization has a CTO in place, get in touch with amy@sharedserviceslink.com.
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