Over the past few years, everything from the dynamic technology landscape to the constant need to digitally transform organizations and improve customer experience has taken the prospect of doing business to uncharted waters. The dire predicament of increasing cyber-attacks adds to the woes and somewhat hinders the scope for innovations by a significant margin. But Chief Innovation Officers (CIOs) need to find a way through these hassles to improve the experience for both employees and clients.

A recent Gartner poll shows that around 48 percent of employees will likely work at least part of the time remotely after COVID-19 versus 30 percent before the pandemic. This brings its own set of challenges to the CPOs. This implies that employees will need support, including enhanced sick leave, financial assistance, adjusted hours of operation, and childcare provisions. CIOs, while being change managers, will need to find innovative ways to satisfy the employees' traditional and newfound needs.

On the flip side, customers today do not just want to buy products and services but are looking for over whelming comprehensive purchase experiences. Organizations expect CIOs to find ways to impart this experience. The advantage of data and analytics is an elixir for them, relieving them of `gut feelings' and trial and error. Plug & play solutions are available in the market to tap into customer data and find what they are really looking for. Attention to detail is key here. In fact, automated data solutions are a great advantage for CIOs a luxury that the previous generation didn't have.