JUNE - 20198By, Eileen Baines, SVP & CIO, CoBankTechnology is transforming at a faster pace than ever. As leaders of the IT function, we need to think of ourselves as innovators and change agents ­as enablers of business strategy ­rather than order takers or cost centers. As a starting point, we need to grasp and articulate the nuances of business strategy, then engineer solutions that deliver on that strategy. In order for IT to lead, business and IT strategy must align. Business strategy should not be hindered by the limitations of existing technology, but rather technology must bring business strategy to life.CoBank provides financing to rural America, from agricultural cooperatives that process and market their farmers' crops to feed the world to a community building a wind farm, and from the communications co-ops that deliver rural broadband to remote homesteads to the providers of electricity, power and solar arrays to the farthest reaches of the country. It is quite amazing how much technology this takes. For example, the systems for irrigating a farm efficiently are high-tech, relying on GPS and remote management via wireless connections, and are ever-changing; the adaptability of those in rural America to shifting technology is impressive.Just like our customers, internally we also need to be nimble with our technology so that the bank can best execute its business strategy. Evolving a highly effective IT organization to support our mission of serving rural America, all the while being able to respond quickly within a banking landscape that can change rapidly, is a significant challenge.So, my team set out on a path to transform IT's tools, processes and culture in order to increase our efficiency, scalability and ability to innovate...to truly be that highly effective organization that the bank needs. We started by establishing an IT mission and vision that aligned with CoBank's. Building trusted partnerships, running IT like a business and innovation became our building blocks. These foundational A Report from the Front: Transforming IT to Enable Business StrategyIN MY OPINION
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