The CIO in 2020

I recently responded to a forum posting about what the CIO of 2020 would look like.

CIOs will have to deal with pressure from users to deliver IT that matches the expectations they have as consumers. Support for tablets, smartphones and other devices can no longer be disregarded as this will be the way that people will expect to work.

What that means in practice is that applications must be securely accessible through the browser. That means cloud technology (public and private) and this will present challenges in terms of systems integration and security.

The CIO of 2020 will have fewer desktop support staff, but will come to depend more on system developers to ensure cloud systems are properly integrated. In my opinion, finding the balance between ease of access for users and security for the organization will be the primary challenge faced by CIOs.

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BBVA Bank goes Google

This is a really interesting story for a number of reasons.

Firstly, it puts Google firmly on the map as a provider of enterprise IT services. There's still a widespread perception that gmail, google docs and the like are consumer offerings, but with an increasing number of enterprises using the business edition of these applications (Google Apps for Business) this is rapidly changing. 

Secondly, it lays to rest the idea that public cloud can't be secure. A bank of 110,000 staff doesn't knowingly take risks with it's data. I think this probably says more about the security assurances of Google than it does about the cloud in general but a good case study is always worth more than any white paper. I've always found that the usual knee-jerk reactions to using Google enterprise services are very well handled in their security and privacy posting which I often cite.

It's also interesting because the decision is less about the potential cost savings (although productivity gains are cited) and more about the benefits of creating a flexible and mobile workforce. This is where Google scores so high, because it doesn't force IT departments to make the traditional commitment to supporting only a limited number of devices (e.g. Blackberry). Because Google Apps are designed to be accessed securely by the browser, smartphone and tablet users are supported from the start. Two-way authentication has also been a major development for Google which means that organizations can add extra security if required.

Ray Allen is a Google Apps Certified Deployment Specialist and Managing Director of Third Way IT which specializes in Google Apps deployments and training.