As the leader in consulting services, that helps companies to transform and build market leadership, Deloitte’s chief technology officer, Bill Briggs, shares deep industry insights on AI and automationOpens a new window . He explains how the role of CTO needs to be both knowledgeable, credible, and create connections between technology and business.
As a technology maven, Briggs explains how CTOs can achieve success, embrace new technologies, and deal with disruption in the context of digital transformationOpens a new window . In this exclusive with Toolbox, he shares his views on how business decisions taken by CTOs in 2019 will impact the digital transformation efforts of tomorrow.
Key Takeaways From This Tech Talk Interview on the Role of CTOs:
- Top career advice for upcoming CTOs and CIOs
- Best practices on how to integrate new technologies
- Trends to follow in digital transformation for your industry for 2020
Here’s the Edited Transcript of the Interview with Briggs and His Views on The Ever-Evolving Role of CTOs:
Bill, to set the stage, tell us about your career path so far and what your role at Deloitte entails.
I studied computer engineering as my undergraduate degree and even as I earned my MBA, I’ve always been focused on doing really big things with technology and using it to solve very specific problems. I’ve been privileged to have several roles throughout my career at Deloitte. For instance, I launched Deloitte Digital seven years ago which delivers more than just customer marketing, it helps our professionals think about and deliver on technology core elements while looking ahead to the future of the digital enterprise; helps define new industries, service model and how work gets done.
What are the must-have skills for techies in the technology world today?
Broadly speaking, engineering and architecture have resurfaced as core skills. Emerging technologies requires software engineering code skills for areas like machine learning, cloud, blockchain and others. I’m seeing the continued push towards creative forces as we’re now inventing futures, businesses, ways of working and engaging emerging technologies. For a while, we were building known things with well established tools. We’re now working and developing in terms of what’s not known that possible.
Deloitte’s 2018 CIO SurveyOpens a new window found that only one-third of executives reported having an enterprise digital strategy at all. This demonstrates that even as competencies such as data science, systems architecture and machine learning remain critical, technologists must improve their people- and strategy-focused skills and think more holistically about the business to be able to articulate the value of programs that will drive real change at scale.
What advice would you give someone at the start of their technology career if they aimed at becoming a Chief Technology Officer (CTO) / Chief Information Officers (CIO)?
Embed and support a consistent culture of curiosity and learning. CTOs now function across the leadership stack and need to be both knowledgeable and credible, creating connections between technologies and businesses, for instance in areas like: how does blockchain relate, what is the prospective role of quantum and physical robotics? I see CTOs as a mix of a futurist and a voice of reason; difficult as sometimes, the two inherently compete.
You once said, “Technology has been elevated into the heart of business strategyOpens a new window .†How do you think AI and automation has impacted the business decisions taken by CTOs and CIOs in 2019?
AI and automation are increasingly freeing employees to perform different, higher-value tasks than before. That means companies can become more strategic, more creative, and find new ways to meet business goals by automating rote or routine functions.
Technologies like natural language processing and machine learning are certainly important to the business, but at the heart of AI and automation decision-making must be a clear value proposition – making sure technology adoption meets a clear business purpose and solves a problem. In Tech TrendsOpens a new window , we call this the “AI-fueled organization,†which embeds AI technologies seamlessly and effectively into business functions to create value.
How can tech leaders build effective business cases for their organizations to integrate new technologies like IoT, AI, ML, AR/VR, quantum computing, etc.?
On one hand, it starts by speaking the same language of the business and using small pilots to demonstrate exactly what these technologies can deliver. Corporate board directors or the rest of the C-suite may not be as tech-savvy as CTOs and CIOs but being able to pinpoint exactly how specific technologies can create efficiencies or solve a business challenge goes a long way in obtaining buy-in and investment.
But as transformative innovation explodes all around, from artificial intelligence to blockchain to augmented and virtual reality, charting that clear-headed path can be overwhelming for big and small companies alike. At the new pace of change, existing industry and geographical lines are dissolving fast with new ecosystems among erstwhile competitors taking their place. One of the biggest challenges of established enterprises especially is how to identify the best innovation solutions for them in the vast world of possibilities.
What’s the one technology that most businesses need to consider growing in 2020 and beyond?
It may sound dull, but it’s not just one technology businesses need to consider, it’s what individual technologies offer to meet their goals and create value, and whether they have the right core systems in place to adopt them. If you don’t have the core systems and IT processes in place to make the most of AI technologies, it may be a mistake to adopt them en masse or scale too quickly. IT needs to move beyond “keeping the lights on†to become a key driver of business strategy in the modern enterprise, but technologists can’t do that without having the right systems in place.
How has digital transformation changed the way businesses are run and structured?
Not long ago, “technology-enabled†business strategy was the norm. Now, we’re championing “technology-led†business – where tech is not just a supporting function but an integral part of the enterprise in every function. Digital transformation has fundamentally changed how businesses can create value, what skills and tasks are needed to support that strategy, and more, and that pace of change is only increasing.
Business leaders are also beginning to understand that digital transformation efforts don’t exist in a vacuum; leaders need to monitor a variety of technology trends at once to find ways to make technology projects concrete and measurable. That means moving beyond “random acts of digital,†or chasing the hottest new trend, to making smart investments that go beyond buzzwords and chart a course for long-term technology strategy.
Tell us about the upcoming projects in digital transformation at Deloitte that you are excited about.
I’m excited to continue to help lead how we incubate emergent technologies and where we’re investing in product development to broaden our capabilities and expertise beyond service. I am fascinated by shifting digital transformation into consistently actionable and purposeful.
Which trends are you tracking in this space as we approach 2020?
In January, we’ll publish our 11th year of Deloitte Tech Trends report which explores how the convergence of new technologies with powerful technological forces is driving disruption across industries. This year’s report focused on several areas that remain particularly exciting to me – where forces like digital experience, analytics, cloud, core modernization, cyber, business of information technology, cognitive, blockchain, and digital reality are headed. We also dive into artificial intelligence-fueled organizations, NoOps in a serverless world, connectivity of tomorrow, intelligent interfaces, customer experience reimagined, what we call DevSecOps and the cyber imperative.
Neha: Thank you, Bill, for sharing your invaluable insights on which skill sets technology leaders, especially CTOs, need to focus on for spearheading digital transformation projects. We hope to talk to you again soon.
About Bill BriggsOpens a new window :
As Global Chief Technology Officer, Bill helps clients anticipate the impact that emerging technologies may have on their business in the future, and how to get there from the realities of today. He also helps define the vision and strategy for Deloitte Consulting LLP’s evolving technology services and offerings. Bill also serves as executive sponsor of Deloitte’s CIO Program, offering CIOs and other IT executives’ insights on how to navigate the complex challenges they face in business and technology.
About Deloitte ConsultingOpens a new window :
As part of the largest management consultancy in the world, our consultants offer global experience and local knowledge to help you succeed in any public or private business environment. With more insightful business perspectives, we help focus your strengths, push your capabilities, and innovate for the future.
About Tech TalkOpens a new window :
Tech Talk is a Toolbox Interview Series with notable CTOs from around the world. Join us to share your insights and research on where technology and data are heading in the future. This interview series focuses on integrated solutions, research and best practices in the day-to-day work of the tech world.
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