Modernization of the CIO function requires that these two objectives work in parallel - remain agile and proactively contribute to a company’s strategic flexibility. While new projects are ramping, we must still ensure that the day-to-day operations are covered and that systems are running smoothly, efficiently, safely, and securely.

This is especially important for the semiconductor industry which for the past few years has seen a lot of merger and acquisition activities.

A perfect example of the value-add and risk mitigation projects running in parallel would be when integrating a newly acquired company. Teams working on the integration of not only IT applications and personnel, would also work to establish an end state for long-term business goals of the company, and at the same time ensuring legacy business-as-usual operations during the process.

This interconnectivity of priorities requires regular communication between technology leaders and management.

Within a global company, IT is required (or often requested) to provide resources across every department and support rapid technology advancements and trends. By becoming a key business partner, the CIO can provide innovative business decisions and help drive change to continuously increase the value of the company. The CIO of the future will be accountable for what the business does, not just how it does.

Partnerships within a company are more important than ever to move forward. CIOs and their IT organizations can strengthen themselves by building relationships to drive changes in systems, process, and establishing measurable business goals (and maybe once in a while fixing a projector).