The Chartered Information Officer

By Dr. Zulk Shamsuddin

The Chartered Information Officer ™ (CIO) is a gold-standard certification for individuals with business and technology experience associated with information technology strategy, project portfolio management, risk management, IT governance, information security management, and leadership management skills.
It forms the basis of the assessment that applicants must pass to gain the Chartered Information Officer (CIO) status and inclusion in the Directory of Certified Professionals of The Global Academy of Finance and Management ®.
Stand out from the crowd with the Chartered Information Officer (CIO) certification. Proudly introduce yourself with the exclusive Certification Card during business meetings, networking, or social events.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Oct 22, 2022
• ISBN: 9781387526468

Book preview

INTRODUCTION

The Chartered Information Officer ™ (CIO) is a gold-standard certification for individuals with business and technology experience associated with information technology strategy, project portfolio management, risk management, IT governance, information security management, and leadership management skills.

It forms the basis of the assessment that applicants must pass to gain the Chartered Information Officer (CIO) status and inclusion in the Directory of Certified Professionals of The GAFM Academy of Finance and Management ®.

Stand out from the crowd with the Chartered Information Officer (CIO) certification.

Chartered Information Officer (CIO)

This certification is targeted at directors and senior managers such as Chief Information Officer (CIO), Information Technology Director, IT Manager, IT Security Manager, Business Information Manager, Enterprise Architect, IT Operations Manager, and IT Consultant and other individuals who has the necessary skills and experience in the capacity as a chief information officer or management of information systems.

It is best suited for participants who have four years and above of actual working experience in IT, preferably working at the supervisor, team leader, manager and senior manager level.

Get this exclusive CIO certification and enjoy these benefits:

This CIO credential is senior level credential that will boost your career toward IT management positions. 

International recognition.

Assurance for clients of high standards and ethical practice.

Use of the post-nominal CIO or Chartered Information Officer after your name on business cards or CVs.

Introduce yourself with this exclusive certification card during networking, business events, conference, training, and anywhere. Certification has its privileges.

Importance of Certification

Certificates and certifications, the names for these credentials sound confusingly similar. But there are important differences. Here’s what you need to know about these resume-enhancing options and how they might advance your career.

What is a Certificate?

Earning a certificate is about education. Certificates are academic credentials awarded by colleges, universities or other educational institutions. Students in certificate programs learn new knowledge in a specific subject or discipline and earn a certificate by successfully completing the coursework. An ideal student for a certificate program is someone who is willing to go through the experience of growing their own skillset, being real about what they want to learn, and working with others, says Jennifer Diamond, an instructor for the GAFM Academy Certified Information Systems Professional. Many certificate programs have few, if any, admission requirements, making them an excellent option if you want to move forward in your career. The programs are usually noncredit and take less time to complete than a degree. Certificates are commonly listed on resumes as education, and some meet education requirements for first-time or renewed certifications.

What is a Certification?

When you have the professional knowledge you need, a certification allows you to prove it.  Certifications indicate mastery of skills or standards. Professional certifications are granted by industry groups or career-related organizations. These groups assess your qualifications, usually through an exam or application process. Many certifications include the privilege to use a related designation following your professional title. A certification differs from a license, which permits you to work in a certain profession and is usually issued by government or regulatory agencies.

Benefits of Certification

Certification helps in learning the new technologies, skills, and abilities for a specific promotion. Earning a new certification or an advanced certification in a particular area of expertise can help in advancing your career.

Professional certification shows consumers and potential employers that you are committed to your profession and are well-trained. It gives them confidence in your abilities and knowledge. Certification makes you more valuable to employers, so you can expect to earn more than someone without certification.

Certifications can give you the chance to learn needed skills, and be a quick way to show employers you have those skills. On the other hand, certifications can require studying or coursework, and cost up to several hundred dollars to take.

Chief Information Officer Responsibilities

Chief Information Officer (CIO) is a C-suite job title given to the executive in charge of information technology initiatives and strategy. The CIO oversees the computer systems required to support the organization's unique objectives and goals.

The CIO role was established in the 1980s. At that time, the CIO primarily focused on managing technical projects, launching systems and using technology to increase efficiency and productivity and cut costs. The job evolved as the storage, transmission and analysis of electronic information grew in importance in enterprises. The role of these corporate leaders has continued to expand. They have become key contributors in how technology could be used to further business objectives and grow the top and bottom lines. CIOs now leads digital transformation initiatives, as well as efforts that result in broad organizational change.

In recent decades, technology has become key to advancing product and service innovation and contributing to business growth. As a result, CIOs have forged closer ties with the business side of their organizations. Various new technologies are driving changes in the enterprise, including in the cloud, data analytics, DevOps, the internet of things and artificial intelligence.

The responsibilities of CIOs vary according to the organization, industry and region in which they work. The chief information officer at one organization could have an entirely different set of responsibilities from the CIO down the street. CIOs in most organizations are responsible for the IT and computer systems that support enterprise goals. It is the CIO's job to innovate, collaborate, balance the IT budget and motivate IT staff.

The CIO's responsibilities include the following:

managing IT staff and developing department goals;

developing and overseeing the IT budget;

planning, deploying and maintaining IT systems and operations;

managing the organization's software development needs

developing IT policies, procedures and best practices

staying updated on IT trends and emerging technologies;

developing and enforcing IT best practices across the organization;

ensuring IT strategies and processes support company-wide goals;

overseeing relationships with vendors, contractors and service providers; and

explaining to the board of directors and other executives the benefits and risks of new IT-related projects.

The Chartered Information Officer certification program addresses the following skills and competencies:

IT Strategy

Portfolio Management

Risk Management

IT Governance

Information Security

Leadership Management

Aligning Information Technology (IT) strategies with business strategies has been a mantra for CIOs for quite a few years. Yet, despite the apparent straightforward nature of the endeavor, many CIOs struggle to achieve that alignment. The rapid rise of digital technologies and transformation has significantly raised the bar now, CIOs must find synergies and multiplier effects, not just business alignment, and that has a big impact on the creation of IT strategies.

Chief Data Officer | CDO | Ensure 100% data-driven working

IT strategy logically flows from the enterprise business vision, mission, goals, and strategies especially digital business strategies. Collectively, they should anchor and guide IT strategy development. Yet IT strategy should also inform business strategy by presenting new and unexpected opportunities and capabilities. CIOs and strategy development stakeholders must cycle back and forth between business and IT strategies to maximize synergies. CIOs need to find new process-driven approaches to formulating strategy in the new world where technology is found in every aspect of the business. An effective strategy development process is inclusive of all stakeholders, reliably identifies the most critical business needs and opportunities, objectively assesses the current state of IT and the enterprise, surfaces and vets all salient IT strategic initiatives and opportunities, explains how business and IT success will be measured, and engages and motivates all those who must embrace, support, and execute the strategy.

This study lays out a process for creating IT strategy. It explains how CIOs can envision and develop new IT strategies, identifies key activities and actions for each step, and provides advice on ensuring effectiveness and adoption of an IT strategy.

Step 1: Lay Groundwork for New IT Strategy Development

Under the duress of executive pressure to transform IT, CIOs may be tempted to jump into formulating new IT strategies without laying the proper groundwork. Like IT itself, however, IT strategy development must extend beyond the boundaries of the IT organization as digital business concerns pervade all aspects of the business, its partners, and its customers. That means that a diverse set of organizations and stakeholders will necessarily be involved in creating new IT strategies. Taking the time to prepare and get all necessary stakeholders onboard, will, however, reduce friction and lead to a faster effort with better results. The groundwork stage is intended to set the stage for all subsequent strategy work.

Key Activities

Identify, contact, and recruit all salient stakeholders. F. Edward Freeman's work on the Stakeholder Theory lists employees, environmentalists, suppliers, governments, community organizations, owners, media, customers, and competitors. Additional stakeholders would include LOB executives, CIO direct reports, and key partner representatives. Team members must be willing and able to devote the necessary time for the duration of their involvement.

Build trusting relationships among all stakeholders, and gain support for the strategy effort.

Educate nontechnical stakeholders on essentials of digital technologies and digital business and operating models.

Conduct workshops to learn about and select key tools and practices, such as agile, design thinking, value streams, and lean start-up, that can help create a structured framework.

Agree on a strategy development process and governance and oversight for the process.

Define the purpose and desired outcomes for the IT strategy development process.

Review existing IT and enterprise vision, mission, strategy, and goals.

Review IT spend across the entire enterprise.

Create/adopt an agile approach to formulating the IT strategy.

One of the biggest mistakes CIOs can make in formulating an IT strategy is to use ad hoc, non-systematic approaches that attempt to match technology solutions with highly visible problems. Modern IT strategies are complex, have multitudes of interdependencies and diverse and powerful stakeholders, and have a material impact on the success or failure of the business. Strategy development is one of the most critical responsibilities — one that requires rigor and a structured approach and processes.

Above all, the IT strategy formulation process needs to be agile, as business environments are continually shifting. A strategy that only adjusts on an annual basis runs the risk at any point in time of being mistargeted. The process needs to continually sense changes in the business ecosystem and prompt decisions about possible changes to the strategy.

Questions

The groundwork stage is the foundation and springboard for actual strategy development and should not be considered complete until the following questions are answered:

Are all necessary participants onboard, with clear roles and authorities?

Do all stakeholders have the necessary level of understanding of relevant digital technologies and business and operating strategies and models?

Have the scope, boundaries, and key elements of the strategy been agreed upon?

Have stakeholders defined and accepted a structured process and governance for formulating the strategy?

Are current IT and enterprise visions, missions, and strategies understood and accepted by all stakeholders?

Step 2: Determine Key Business Drivers and Forces

IT strategies are intended to move businesses forward by creating new products and services, attracting and retaining customers, entering new markets, and solving business problems. In that context, key issues and business drivers are those that constrain the business from moving forward or present opportunities to grow and succeed. Business and IT strategies exist in a messy world of shifting business, social, technological, economic, and geopolitical forces. Those forces and dynamics make up the business context in which the IT strategy must function and succeed and form the basis for identifying key drivers that will shape and help decide what key initiatives need to be prioritized.

Key drivers are quite individualized to a given business. But they can include technology emergence and evolution; global competition and challenges; competition in the form of new business and

Reviews for The Chartered Information Officer

[Isabella Cruise · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Interesting book, technical and soft skills that are required to be a successful chief information officer are clearly presented in this book. A must-have for anyone who wishes to develop their career toward a senior role in information technology.

[Sharifah Shawls · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Contents are sufficient for reference and certification. Highly recommended for anyone who wishes to upgrade their career as a chartered information officer.