Recently headhunters may be very active, very urgent, because securities firms have opened the door to senior positions, we are looking for Chief Information Officer (Chief Information Officer - CIO). What does this mean wave operation? Of headhunters who naturally have to catch this opportunity to get huge commission; for more traditional financial institutions, perhaps driven by the industry regulator had to pay attention to scientific and technological personnel from the construction of the system.
Banks, brokerage firms road of science and technology, from the "computer room", "computer department", "Software Center", "Information Technology" to "Internet Banking Department," "Finance Ministry" along the way, also witnessed Technology the key aspects of the terms of the proportion of employees, business management, business development, etc. the importance of constantly "inflating", today technology finally a seat in the executive ranks of the station.
However, on this wave of "action", there are several issues worth discussing it. First, the Board of Directors to prepare the mission entrusted to the CIO what is it? CIO jobs that existed for at least 20 years of age, in the "Data is the new oil", "API economy", "open bank" have become commonplace in the moment, how to play a role? What kind of candidates qualified for? In this technology generations, such a position of the leading technology of traditional financial institutions where to go?
Discussing these topics, to talk about the job itself CIO. We know that Americans are especially good at invention corporate title, which is a variety of names CXO. Top with just technology-related jobs, there is CIO (Chief Information Officer - Chief Information Officer), CTO (Chief Technology Officer - Chief Technology Officer), CDO (Chief Digital Officer - Chief Digital Officer), Chief Architect (Chief Architect ).
These positions, estimated chairman of the part of the traditional financial institutions, executives not easy to figure out. Their positioning difference, it is in a certain reason, and will not just big business to give the people in all sorts of pretexts, the official seal into the Jazz. Here we try to "science" look.
Let me talk CIO, that no research first CIO from which company is born, but this post is almost certainly in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The early 1980s, almost none of the companies employees with desktop computers at a desk, but in the late 1980s, almost everyone has one - that is the legendary MIS (Management Information System) is becoming a hot word of the times, that is an open system ( open system - in the early 1990s, but a new term), the Internet is about to turbulent years, the industry has gone from so-called "electronic" (the banking sector in the mainframe era called EDP - electronic Data Processing) towards the "information" and information daily business and management techniques are also financial institutions play an increasingly critical role, but note, MIS's role, is facing managers, internal information systems support, the ultimate consumer user can "not in service . "
With the old mainframes gave way to the so-called Open System and next-generation enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, enterprise-class, cross-functional cross-line information technology strategic planning needs emerged, chief information officer for this position also appears, because there are companies realize the importance of this position can only be more and more, want to fully understand the impact of information technology business management is not enough, we must promote information about strategy and decision-making as a member of the board of directors.
Of course, the real was given this power CIO can be said to be rare, most of the CIO within the enterprise or a "B summit" only (business sector is the Party, then, IT is B), and often do not understand the business and because in front of business leaders in charge of "cautious", after all, IT is a cost center, who who make money cow, right?
To tell you the CTO. In the Internet era, many technology companies have is chief technology officer of this corner (inside some technology companies CIO is responsible for the company's own information, the so-called "Internal IT", not very outside). CTO technology development direction of the depth of the impact of technology companies, technology architecture, technology and culture, technical specifications, intellectual property core technology within the product line.
Overall, CTO is the technology company's unique position, is directly responsible for the company's own core technology competitiveness. Later, non-technology companies, such as banks began to have positions of CTO, such as some investment banks on Wall Street, at different vertical business lines (such as Equity Trading, FICC, etc.) to the CTO has vertical lines.
Very obviously, CTO responsible for technology strategy is a technology product line, line of business, customer, or is external. In the international financial institutions, compared to the kind of CIO gray hair, mature, deep qualifications, wearing a suit and tie of serious professional image, CTO should be a middle-aged talents - engineers background (done for quite a while at any rate "code farmers," the actual work of it), a posture ready to roll up their sleeves like painting technical architecture on the whiteboard.
Including technical communities, people often distinguish between "chief architect" and CTO of these two functions are very confused, there are a lot of controversy. We do not pull other industries, in terms of the financial sector, experience tells us that you need to really understand the architecture of a people to do "chief" - whatever you call him an architect or technical official.
No management functions "pure architect" in the traditional financial institutions are not functioning, the development of standards adopted by nobody, technology practice finishing can not promote this area you can not blindly copying technology companies, technology companies because of "Outstanding architecture division "(Distinguished Architect) and" researcher "(Architect Fellow, perhaps called the" Institute Fellow "is more appropriate) are equivalent to vice president, senior vice president, financial institutions have influence within the IT people do not have any of.
If simple and crude language to refer to "Conway's Law", is the "organizational structure determines technical architecture," co-design the organizational structure, personnel chief architect team did not control the right planning, it is difficult in a traditional financial institution environment leads to change in financial technology development will inevitably lead to the. "Chief Architect" is a function, it should be made at any time to part-time whiteboard drawing technical architecture CTO. On the other hand, there is no architectural thinking people, it is impossible to competent CTO.
In recent years, overseas financial institutions, and the emergence of a new CXO, that is, "chief digital officer" (Chief Digital Officer - CDO). This post is more confusing. But this is in response to the "digital transformation" of the financial industry generated. So what is digital it? It and Information What is the difference? Detailed answer this question, the need for another article.
In this case, make a shallow large vernacular (although it may not be strict) explanation: the information is internal, the earliest is from within the enterprise widespread use of computers started to promote management efficiency through technology; digital is triggered by an external the first is to meet the increasingly "on-line" the needs of customers, optimize the customer experience, both inside and outside the Forced integration of digital connections in the process, redefining enterprise customers and online collaboration boundaries.
From the environment point of view, digital is because cloud computing, big data, especially in highly developed and emerging mobile Internet, there is no profound knowledge of these technologies, the so-called "information technology" Today's enterprises are still going round and round in internal systems but not the "user experience" mention. Information technology demands have not changed the organizational structure, business model, management of financial institutions? Yes, but no more, no information technology, many businesses still do, technology is not entirely on the most critical path of business.
Digital shocks to the financial institutions is subversive, calling for "transition" - the organizational structure, distribution of employee skills, changing business models and so on. In the information age, there is no information companies can do business in the digital age, there is no digital business, then do not do the business. Because your customers are digital, digital is the business itself. CDO, is the need to drive change in this transition period as the actual perpetrators. Our understanding, CDO responsible for the customer experience, responsible for enterprise digital ecosystem itself, is responsible for strategic financial technology, and innovation to promote responsible for the business.
However, the title is just a catchy title, not sure really substantive things, everything is nothing, what you call C O useless. Back to basics, financial institutions need immediate technical leader of what? Different years from the onset of the above positions, we can see that the former leader is taking more and more, more and more close to the business. Is because of the financial technology, financial technology is business, "Bank 4.0" author Brett King (Brett King) even think that this should be the CEO himself doing things, only one mission: to lead the entire enterprise digital to financial technology to do Technology and Finance. Financial technology companies to contribute to the "digital transformation", is the technology leader in science and technology strategy or designer performer mission.
How to understand "transformation" This thing do? So to speak, are the future of financial technology finance, there is no scientific and technological capabilities of your financial business is also not go dry, because you are a traditional institution rather than get a new license, no historical burden, the first day of the opening on the use of cloud computing, big data and artificial intelligence has a "natural" gene technology new financial businesses. Since it is a "tradition", in order to adapt to the era of passive, you naturally have to "transformation."
But your most important customers in the future - 80, 90, 00, after they, are all "Digital Native" (lifetime is in the world of the internet), Which financial institutions also need their feet into the network to solve the problem, then they must vote with your fingers, switching a bank or a securities company is switching App only.
Digital trend is irreversible, just as each wave of technological revolution will Ebb Tide, re-shuffle of all walks of life, like the times of the enterprise to survive and even become the next king, others decided to adopt "safe and secure" in do attitude watchers, followers of the enterprise is "orderly" of dying out, wait for the arrival of the "Kodak moment" (Kodak moment) of.
Technology leader, from the CIO 90 years, CTO at the beginning of this century to CDO emerged in recent years, more and more to the front, no matter what wore the title, the key is whether the depth of integration leading technology and services, help financial companies to a line, connecting inside and outside, ecology, platform digital finance new world, if still in marked zero existing business tactical bits and pieces "of information patch," the state, obviously does not help, not solve the underlying problem.
Whether traditional institutions technology leader wore what titles are faced with the challenge to lead the digital transformation of enterprise needs encountered