Digital transformation of the whole IHG technology estate. Some good lessons from CIO Laura Miller.
Right-sourcing talent.
Identify the right mix of internal staff and external partners who can help you reach your goals. Once heavily reliant on outsourcers, IHG consolidated to a handful of strategic vendors.
Two-track upgrades.
Some CIOs prefer to lay a strong infrastructure foundation before tackling customer-facing systems. Miller managed both concurrently, noting that IT leaders can't afford to “stay still.”
Change management remains the biggest challenge.
Constant communication is key. IHG’s program management team met with multiple workstream owners, including finance, HR, legal and sourcing, every week to discuss risks, mitigations and the impact of various aspects of the initiative.
Build credibility with your business peers.
A lack of trust in IT by business partners can doom tech initiatives before they start. Despite her transformation wins, Miller says that she is still trying to change the business’ current perception of IT. “It’s still an evolution to get them to collaborate with IT,” Miller says. “But we’re starting to add significant value in terms of solutions.”
Clint Boulton CIO 8th August 2019
Hotel chains have long under-invested in technology, opting to focus on white-glove customer service and other offerings that have a cachet of cool. A raft of high-profile data breaches, coupled with the rise of Airbnb and other flexible lodging alternatives, has hoteliers racing to bring their systems up to par. The trick: modernizing IT while curbing costs.
https://www.cio.com/article/3429216/ihg-books-big-tech-transformation.html
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