On this episode of The Smart IT Podcast, I welcomed Timothy Laudell Jackson, CIO @ Diamond Offshore, to the show to have a chat about what IT has been through over the last two decades and what professionals can do to be prepared for the next decade. His vantage point as a CIO was invaluable in this discussion. We talked about IT and its continued adaptation to changes in the business. He works for a company in the Oil & Gas industry and gave us insights into its business priorities and the nature of investments in IT; the effects on his team because of the challenges of economic downturns and the pandemic; and the big focus on efficiency as a driver for many of IT’s initiatives. One of those initiatives led to capturing and extracting more value from their data to help support the business with predictive analytics for their physical equipment. 

We discussed several insightful areas, including: 

• The other professional skills that are needed beyond technical acumen to be successful in supporting our organizations, communicating what is technically possible and the challenges of turning on new functionality quickly. 
• The strategy of leveraging Cloud and Managed Services to extend internal IT capabilities, transferring risk, and delivering new capabilities to the business faster.
• Improving decision making support through strategy and education to optimize how technology can be used to improve process or maximize profit. 
• Upskilling professional skills to stay relevant when technology changes is vital. Improving your understanding of user needs through process understanding and feedback elicitation. 
• Focusing on the design of systems to improve the experience of ends users interacting with the technology. 
• Improving teamwork, both internally and externally.
• Understanding team dynamics and inspiring action, ensuring the business goals are understood by everyone. 
• Importance of understanding business functions, the why and how your organization makes money and competes in the marketplace. 

Parting thoughts on the opportunities for IT professionals to prepare for what is next. 

For More Information:

LinkedIn: Timothy Laudell Jackson

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