Interview
In my recent article, “Salesforce Survey Reveals 'AI Dilemma' for CIOs,” I explored the growing pressure on chief information officers to master AI amid a cautious adoption landscape.
This survey revealed that 67% of CIOs are treading carefully, signaling a more measured approach to AI compared to other technologies. Many, unfortunately, believe their business counterparts have unrealistic expectations regarding AI's speed in delivering ROI.
In this Q&A, Eric Johnson, CIO of PagerDuty, shared how CIOs can evolve from hesitant adopters to confident AI navigators.
Table of Contents
- How CIOs Can Leverage AI for Greater Visibility
- Where CIOs Should Level-Up Their AI Game
- How to Approach AI Opportunities the Right Way
- How CIOs Can Succeed in Their AI Initiatives
- Parting Words From One CIO to Another
How CIOs Can Leverage AI for Greater Visibility
Does AI create a unique opportunity for CIOs with respect to CEOs and Boards?
According to Johnson, “over the last decade, the role of a CIO has evolved — from a tactical operations executive to a strategic, transformational leader. CIOs have gone from making sure the phones and network are working (which is critical) to driving digital transformation with a focus on leveraging data (Generative AI), automation and proactive cybersecurity to deliver real business impact.”
He added, “since AI has become a top priority for many CEOs, this gives CIOs another opportunity alongside CEOs at the Board table. The most successful CIOs are starting to look through the lens, not of technology first, but of being hyper-focused on the business outcome they will deliver and measure against.”
This perspective fits 100% percent with the learnings that I have had in the weekly #CIOChats.
How can CIOs educate CEOs and Boards on AI potential?
Johnson argued, “the key is for CIOs to speak their language, focusing on business outcomes rather than technical details. When discussing AI with a board, frame it with tangible impacts — how it can drive revenue growth, improve customer experience or boost operational efficiency.
“It's also crucial to be transparent about risks and challenges. I've found that providing clear, data-driven insights helps the board understand where we stand and where we're headed with AI.”
This message applies to vendors as well. If they come in talking the language of technology, it creates cognitive dissonance for IT teams and pushes discussions down.
Related Article: CIOs Share Approaches to Piloting GenAI
Where CIOs Should Level-Up Their AI Game
How many CIOs are truly AI-savvy?
Over the years, CIOs have stressed to me that transformation is needed personally before digital transformation can be successful. Johnson sees the same thing.
He said, “the CIO role has evolved dramatically, and CIOs need to evolve with it.” As a part of this process, “CIOs have had to shift from being primarily focused on operational IT to becoming strategic business leaders. As for AI savviness, while I don't have exact figures on how many CIOs are truly AI-savvy right now, our research at PagerDuty indicates a strong trend in this direction.”
According to Johnson, his company's findings revealed that “76% of leaders plan to automate IT and business operations workflows, many of which CIOs will be tasked with implementing.” This means, Johnson said, “CIOs must become AI savvy if they aren't already. It's a rapidly evolving field; we're all learning as we go, and it's incumbent upon our role as technology leaders to lead and inform that education.”
How should CIOs demystify AI complexities for their team and the organization?
Johnson argued, “this is crucial. CIOs must be "multilingual,” meaning they can communicate effectively with technical and non-technical stakeholders. To demystify AI, I have encouraged my team to focus on use cases and outcomes rather than the underlying technology.
“We regularly hold cross-functional workshops discussing AI applications in plain language, helping everyone understand how it can impact specific business areas. A helpful route is to identify ways AI is being used that people can identify with and relate to — such as generative AI, sales chatbots, process automation — and build from there.”
How to Approach AI Opportunities the Right Way
Should CIOs define concrete goals and metrics when pursuing AI opportunities?
Johnson recommended defining concrete business goals and measures for AI success. At his company, he explained, “every AI initiative we undertake has clear, measurable business objectives tied to it. This could be reducing incident response times, improving customer satisfaction scores or increasing the efficiency of our development teams.
“Having these concrete goals helps us measure success and ensures buy-in from other executives and the board. It can also help us track if we’re going off course and need to pivot to a new solution, as there are still many AI ‘unknowns.’”
How can CIOs ensure data is AI-ready?
I asked Johnson to dig into how CIOs make data AI-ready. He said, “data is the core building block of AI, dictating the model's usefulness throughout its lifecycle. To prepare data, CIOs should focus on implementing effective data management processes across their organizations, breaking down traditional silos to enable cross-departmental information sharing.
“This approach allows AI models to leverage vast amounts of data and historical insights from the entire organization. It's crucial to ensure that our data is ethically and morally sound, compliant with rapidly changing AI regulations and has a strong business case. By focusing on these aspects, we can create AI models that provide intelligent recommendations and automate repetitive tasks, ultimately reducing the cognitive load on our teams for time-intensive processes like incident resolution.”
What’s the CIO’s role in ensuring data privacy and security within AI solutions?
In the Salesforce CIO survey, the biggest things slowing deployment down were privacy and security concerns. Johnson said, “as a CIO, ensuring the privacy and security of data is a critical responsibility, especially as we implement AI solutions.
“CIOs need to develop solid frameworks for data management and security. This often involves working with cross-functional teams, including compliance, risk, legal and security departments. The goal is to ensure that as we leverage data for AI, we're doing so in a way that protects privacy and maintains security while complying with relevant regulations.”
Related Article: How Lines of Business Will Prove the Value of GenAI
How CIOs Can Succeed in Their AI Initiatives
How can CIOs facilitate a cohesive team concept to deliver on AI promises?
Johnson claimed, “it's important to foster collaboration across departments and align various teams toward common digital transformation goals. This often involves bringing together people with different skills and perspectives to work on AI initiatives.
“As a CIO, my role is to help break down silos and ensure that teams across the organization can work together effectively to deliver business opportunities.”
What are the biggest gaps in CIO knowledge?
CIOs are used to leading business transformation that they are not expert in. However, AI is a bit different.
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Johnson said, “one of the biggest gaps is often in understanding the business implications of AI beyond just the technology. Many CIOs still need help translating AI capabilities into concrete business strategies. There's also often a gap in change management skills — implementing AI isn't just a technical challenge; it's an organizational one.”
What three things can CIOs do to increase their success at AI?
Johnson said that, based on his experience and the trends he’s seeing in the industry, “I'd recommend these three things for CIOs creating an AI strategy:
- Develop a robust framework for data management and security. This is crucial as data is the core building block of AI. Form a cross-functional group that includes compliance, risk, legal, security and data teams to ensure your data is clean, trustworthy and ethically managed.
- Identify specific business opportunities where AI can create value. Don't implement AI for its own sake. Look for areas where AI can clearly win for the company or customers and build a strong business case for each AI initiative.
- Be willing to experiment and explore 'the art of the possible.' While defining use cases is essential, leave room for innovation. Some of the most significant benefits from AI can come from applications you might not have initially anticipated.”
Parting Words From One CIO to Another
CIOs must evolve from hesitant adopters to confident AI navigators, Johnson emphasized. He stressed the importance of focusing on business outcomes, educating stakeholders and fostering collaboration across teams.
He also highlighted the need for CIOs to understand the business implications of AI, ensure data security and be willing to experiment and explore new possibilities. By following these guidelines, CIOs can successfully leverage AI to drive business value and achieve their strategic goals.
