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As AI thrusts technology even deeper into enterprise operations, IT can no longer just be an order taker.
In the past, technology teams typically worked in a silo, and often built or invested in solutions without understanding the specific problems users were trying to solve. This greatly undermined the value that companies could drive with new technologies, and eroded the trust between IT and the business.
Now, with AI agents promising to drive new levels of efficiency and productivity, it’s imperative that the two sides come together. Working together, they can uncover the areas where AI can drive the most impact – or where another tool may make more sense. Ultimately, it’s not just an opportunity to not just deploy new applications, but to also reimagine how the organization runs to drive even more impactful outcomes.
”IT is where product vision meets actual use — and that gap is often wider than people imagine,” Village Roadshow CIO Arul Arogyanathan said on a recent episode of “The New Automation Mindset” podcast. "Technology is not just a tool, but a transformative force that can unlock new opportunities, enable innovation, and connect with people in a way that truly matters.”
Those building and buying the systems need input from end users to pin-point challenges in existing workflows, find opportunities for automation and locate the domain-specific data the AI agents need to perform. And given their growing influence in many C-Suites, many CIOs are stepping up to figure out how to break-down barriers preventing this deeper collaboration.
”IT is where product vision meets actual use — and that gap is often wider than people imagine.”
“Business transformation is a team sport and not always easy. IT can’t make this transformation alone. Leaders and subject matter experts in other impacted functions have to come along with this change in approach as well.” – said Juniper Networks CIO Sharon Mandell.
Here’s what top CIOs and other technology leaders are saying about how to break-down barriers dividing IT from the business:
Revamp the role of CIO to be a transformational leader: “The CIO role today is the application on steroids of technology and the blurring of lines between tech and business, because they’re becoming one and the same in every business. The role has become a transformation role, a digitalization role, a process transformation role. It’s no longer a pure technology role, just as business roles have morphed closer into needing to understand tech,” Andi Karaboutis, a former CIO for companies including Ford, General Motors and Dell, told CIO.com.
Take advantage of IT’s unique position: “Everything we do is in the service of the business, and I mean every function across the company. What I find interesting is that there aren’t too many other functions within an organization that have the kind of vantage point that we have,” Asana CIO Saket Srivastava told InformationWeek. “We work with everyone, so we see what their priorities are and what they are working on. We play that group that’s connecting the dots and guiding behavior or change in behavior, because we can see things like no one else.”
Build cross-functional teams, blending technologists with domain experts: “We moved away from functionally siloed IT teams and shifted to a product operating model, creating cross-functional teams built around business capabilities,” said Arul.
Start communicating the end goal: “People need to know where you’re going, why you’re going there, and how you’re going to get there,” said Andi.
Be the bridge connecting technology to business problems: “Your job is to be the ultimate arbiter of truth between what your business is asking for, what they need, and what the analysts and vendors are telling you they can do,” — Cummins CIO Earl Newsome told CIO.com.
Provide the space for learning: “We’re equipping our existing teams with the space, tools, and support needed to explore genAI through practical application, including rapid prototyping, internal hackathons, and proof-of-concept sprints,” Sravana Kumar Karnati, executive vice president of global tech platforms at Walmart, told CIO.com. “These aren’t just technical exercises — they’re structured opportunities for cross-functional learning, where engineers, product leads, and domain experts collaborate to test real use cases.”
Always think in outcomes: “CIOs should frame tech investments in terms that resonate with CFOs: cost savings, operational efficiencies, and measurable ROI,” Blackline CIO Sumit Johar told TechRadar.
