FEATURE: SMART INVESTMENTS
CIOS TODAY MUST BLEND STRATEGY WITH CULTURE.
At Retro Rabbit, we always start with culture before code. A tool, no matter how smart, will fail if your team isn’ t curious, flexible and trusting. So, before you pick platforms or set up pipelines, make sure your mindset is ready.
Here’ s how I frame priorities:
Their responses provide a timely guide for CIOs navigating the next wave of transformation— one where agility, foresight, and disciplined investment strategies will determine who leads and who lags in the age of intelligent enterprise.
Theo Crous, Founder and Chief Design Officer, Retro Rabbit / SmarTek21
Balancing Boldness with Backbone
Today’ s CIOs must do two things at once: move fast with new AI and data tools while also keep systems strong and reliable. These goals don’ t cancel each other out, they belong together. The key is thinking of technology as a design challenge, not just a line on a budget sheet.
1. Anchor every decision in real user needs. AI and data matter only if they solve real problems. Talk to your people first. Watch how they work. Find the tasks that slow them down. Build solutions for those exact issues, not just for the latest trend.
2. Choose systems that talk to each other. Avoid piling up isolated tools that don’ t connect. Look for platforms with open APIs and clear data rules – not black box outputs. When your applications share information easily, teams can work faster and with fewer mistakes.
3. Design resilience into your services. Security and backups are important, but real resilience means more. Plan for parts of your service to slow down or fail without breaking everything. Use small tests and monitoring so you can spot problems early and fix them before they grow.
4. Create safe spaces for testing new ideas. In our work across finance, telecoms and logistics, we’ ve found that sandboxing innovation in dedicated pilots, skunkworks, or even start-up partnerships enables CIOs to learn fast without betting the farm. These safe spaces also signal cultural permission to fail wisely.
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