Observations

The need for IT and digital governance is more pressing today than ever before. As leaders, CIOs must drive the digital governance agenda. The pace of innovation, particularly artificial intelligence (AI), is such that policy and legislative frameworks are largely lagging behind. CIOs must be ready to lead the agendas of their executive leadership team, the CEO and the board. This advisory examines what CIOs should present and, just as importantly, what they should ask.

1. The Governance Imperative

Digital transformation has fundamentally expanded the role of IT governance beyond a project-focused, reactive function to a strategic business enabler. Traditional governance agendas centred on projects, passive risk management, year-to-date budgets, and policies are no longer sufficient. Today’s governance must focus on delivering value, driving business transformation, and fostering proactive leadership in emerging technologies.

Digital governance is where all the critical questions should be asked and answered. Too often, these discussions happen outside the governance forum by stakeholders who lack the technical context to make informed decisions. The key to successful and proactive digital governance lies in getting the right people, the right mindset, and the right culture in place.

2. Redefining Digital Governance Membership and Roles

Strategic Membership

Modern digital governance requires representation that reflects the distributed nature of technology responsibility across the C-suite. Members should include:

  • Chief Information Officer (leading the agenda)
  • Chief Data Officer or senior data steward
  • Chief Security Officer or cyber security lead
  • Business transformation leaders
  • Key business unit representatives
  • Enterprise architecture leadership

Decision-Making Authority

Governance committees must function as empowered sub-committees of the Executive Leadership Team with clear decision-making mandates and responsibilities. This includes:

  • Aligning stakeholders and resolving disputes in digital transformations.
  • Making binding decisions on technology investment choices and priorities.
  • Establishing accountability for data management at each organisational level.
  • Driving cross-functional collaboration.

3. The Modern Governance Agenda

Core Focus Areas

Business Architecture Integration: business architecture serves as a blueprint for how a business operates and creates value, bridging the gap between strategy and execution. It defines what teams do in a business sense, aligning business goals with its structure, processes, information, and technology. Understanding how different divisions operate is essential for integrating AI into business processes and achieving true digital transformation.

AI Governance and Implementation: with AI’s rapid advancement, governance must address:

  • Data quality as a foundational requirement.
  • In-house expertise development.
  • Identifying viable use cases that can compete for resources.
  • Legacy system modernisation strategies.
  • Change management to address workforce concerns.

If AI activities are already underway in the organisation, don’t shut them down – get good governance around them.

Data Stewardship and Quality: data quality must be treated as a standing order of business, with clear accountability structures and regular reporting on data management initiatives.

Cyber Security Integration: cyber security considerations must be woven throughout all governance discussions, with regular reporting to Audit and Risk Committees and the establishment of government-wide cyber security training programs with certification pathways.

Vendor Ecosystem Management: joint procurement strategies, vendor relationship management with lines of business, and platform-partner operating models require governance oversight to ensure alignment with enterprise architecture principles.

What CIOs Should Present

  • Value-Focused Metrics: present measurable efficiency gains, cost savings, and business value rather than traditional project status updates.
  • Risk Mitigation Strategies: demonstrate proactive cyber security measures and risk management approaches.
  • Roadmap Monitoring: provide real-time adjustment capabilities, acknowledging that initial plans require ongoing refinement.
  • Peer Visibility: build relationships with peers and use their experiences as models.
  • Workforce Planning: address skill gaps, training needs and the cyber and AI skills pipeline.

Critical Questions CIOs Should Ask

  • How are we measuring and demonstrating value delivery from our digital investments?
  • What barriers exist to AI implementation, and how can governance help remove them?
  • Are our data quality standards sufficient to support advanced analytics and AI initiatives?
  • How effectively are we managing change across the organisation?
  • What cross-functional collaboration is needed to achieve our digital transformation goals?

Next steps

Immediate Steps

  • Get Authority: for governance committees to function as serious sub-committees of the Executive Leadership Team, with clear decision-making responsibilities, ensured sponsorship, and delegated authority from the top of the organisation.
  • Restructure Membership: ensure representation reflects distributed technology responsibilities.
  • Redefine Purpose: shift from reporting updates to making strategic decisions.
  • Establish Metrics: focus on value, savings, and measurable efficiency rather than activity-based reporting.
  • Create Accountability: assign clear data stewardship roles, cyber security, and AI responsibilities.

Medium-Term Initiatives

  • Develop an AI Strategy: address barriers including data quality, expertise gaps, and limitations of legacy systems.
  • Implement Common Standards: establish data standards and interoperability protocols.
  • Strengthen Security Posture: create comprehensive cyber security training programs.
  • Foster Innovation: establish innovation funds and mechanisms for evaluating emerging technologies.

Long-Term Vision

  • Achieve Integration: replace legacy systems, standardise processes, and integrate data across the enterprise.
  • Build Capability: develop sustained in-house expertise in emerging technologies.
  • Enable Transformation: support user-centred service delivery and business process optimisation.
  • Scale Success: ensure data, talent, and governance structures can scale AI and other innovations across the organisation.