West Trax

Expert interviews

with David J. Berry

Additional Information

Expert interview with

David J. Berry

Three questions to David J. Berry, Chief Information and Technology Officer, NomadCIO, providing Interim CIO and CTO leadership globally in multiple industrie

1. Is there anything such as THE ONE state-of-the-art technology which drives revenue / profit growth for most companies?

Answer DB: Integration technology comes to mind. Most companies suffer from a variety of systems, whether those are back-end legacy or customer facing digital solutions. They all require integration at some level. Companies that don’t master integration with a real-time mindset are doomed to stay in the past.

2. What are the major stumbling blocks in many companies or rather: Why does decision-taking take so much time?

Answer DB: Going forward, risking, being first in digital world? No one wants the blame when it goes wrong! Most technology projects fail in some form or another. Whether that is an outright failure or didn’t live up to the hype/expectations. Things at companies that are public also require a level of scrutiny on the financial side. This includes not just the cost to implement, but also a quantified set of benefits. Executive management is loath to apply benefits to a project since they will have to actually show results! Thus, a commitment on the management side requires serious due diligence before they will commit, and of course, this takes time.

3. What are the advantages of an InterimCIO in comparison to a permanent CIO for a company?

Answer DB: As an Interim CIO, there is no ‘baggage.’ There is no personal background and therefore an Interim CIO / CTO has the ability to quickly understand the issues. A key attribute of an Interim CIO is telling the truth which is often difficult for permanent CIO’s or CTO’s before there are consequences to exposing issues, weaknesses, etc. Those CIO’s or CTO’s that engage internal audit in all thing’s technology will be better positioned than those that don’t. I have always had the view the Internal Audit should be the CIO’s best friend in the company, because they provide an independent set of eyes on systems and solutions that may impact the controls of a company. Another area that an Interim CIO can achieve results is with the organization. Providing an independent view of talent, capability is a key factor for Interim CIO’s.