FEATURE: STATE OF THE CIO
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It is a challenging time
to be a CIO. Not just
tasked with keeping the
technology backbone
functioning, they
now must help their
organisation make sense
of mountains of data and
become more agile so
as to support a digital
strategy. Niral Patel,
MD Oracle SA, therefore
asks, what is in it for
organisations if they
went autonomous?
O
ur latest data management
study, Building trust in your
information and security,
shows that companies are still
struggling when it comes to managing data
to extract meaningful insight, securing it and
using that data ethically. The good news is
that although many companies still lack a
clear data strategy, South African companies
are most likely to have one.
The report shows that local businesses’ top
three security and data priorities for the year
ahead are to enhance security controls and
procedures; to enforce technologies enabling
insight availability instantly, anyplace,
anytime – securely; and to promote internal
awareness and education to threats.
Organisations are still being overwhelmed
by the data deluge faced. Throwing more
bodies at the problem isn’t efficient or
even a guarantee of success. The 24/7
requirements on business and huge
security challenges mean that ‘manual”
management is no longer an option.
Companies need to tackle the problem head
on. This will come from better internal practices
and putting data management strategies and
enhanced security controls in place.
Additionally, the prudent use of cloud
and emerging technologies like Artificial
Intelligence (AI) and automation will also
be key as we hit that tipping point where the
data and security challenge is becoming just
too big for humans alone.
It is for this reason that some forward-looking
organisations are already embedding AI and
Machine Learning (ML) technologies into their
critical business systems and processes, with
key areas of the business predicted to benefit
the most from this type of automation being
operations, customer service, decision support,
IT and finance.
From automation to autonomous
But is South Africa ready for the coming
wave of automation? According to The
Economist Intelligence Unit’s Automation
Readiness Index, which measures countries’
preparedness for the coming wave of
intelligent automation, South Africa ranks
at 22 with a score of 40.1, well below the
average score of 62.1 and is considered as
an emerging intelligent automation country.
In a recent survey conducted by Harvard
Business Review Analytic Services,
the majority of respondents consider
automation as vital to not only to compete
but also to survive in the years ahead.
What is in it for
organisations if they
go autonomous?
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INTELLIGENTCIO
www.intelligentcio.com