Cyber attacks, talent hacks, tech stack lacks: with every opportunity technology brings, it seems that another problem or challenge arises.

In today’s rapidly-changing technology space, CIOs and CTOs have more on their plates than ever. So, what are some of the concerns of these frontline warriors in business transformation? We look at a few of them below.

Next-gen job talent

Their high-tech upbringing means they think about, and approach, employment differently than previous generations. For starters, according to a 2019 Yello Recruiting Study, Generation Z and millennials actively seek employers with leading tech stacks.

The study found that Gen Z (18-to-22-year-olds) demands technology: a top-notch tech stack is essential to this tech-literate group. Nearly half of Gen Z candidates polled have applied for jobs via mobile, and they rank texting as top recruitment-process communication method nearly twice as often as millennial (23-38) candidates.

Since this is the case, companies might want to invest in recruitment technology. A Candidate Relationship Management (CRS) system that helps your company automate and shape the interactions you have with recruits, can help project a high-tech image. Video interviewing software and evaluation management software are also among state-of-the-art recruitment tools.

These next-gen workers also want to call the shots and work when and where they want. For companies employing remote workers, mobile workforce management is the answer. 

AI-driven cyber attacks

Although AI wasn’t a factor in the more notable cyber attacks of 2018, companies need detection and training to counter the coming onslaught. The next generation of cyber-attacks will be smarter and faster, and business will need to fight AI with AI by introducing AI-based protection systems to contain attacks by this new tech. “I believe 2019 will bring the first of many AI-driven attacks on U.S. companies, critical infrastructure and government agencies,” Rick Grinnell, founder and managing partner of Glasswing Ventures, told Cio.com. “Let’s hope I’m wrong.”

Data protection

The possibility of the wrong person getting your customer’s information is all too possible. The makers of IoT devices still use vulnerable software components and poor network and communication security. They can’t always supply software updates to keep up with hackers. Forward-thinking organizations are now building privacy-by-design into their products. But not all companies have that luxury. And while the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a rule in the right direction, making sure security measures up is an ongoing effort.

Another concern: with the advent of multi-cloud computing, CIOs now need to consider security across multiple platforms.

Building (and rebuilding) trust

2018 was a bad year for IT companies. A number of well-publicized hacks of company data and sharing of customers’ online habits means that consumers are becoming leerier of technology in general. No company seems to be immune from a potential data breach; and when it happens, businesses need to have a strategy. Companies that don’t shift away from merely collecting data to creating experience-driven relationships with their customers risk being left behind.

Fortunately, companies can earn digital trust to boost customer experience. Transparency, accessibility and awareness are all important tools in this effort, with big potential payoffs in customer loyalty.

Digital transformation

From migrating legacy on-premises systems to cloud software to marketing solutions designed to satisfy IT requirements, the term “digital transformation” has come to encompass a wide range of change in a variety of industries. It can mean experimenting with virtual assistants to aid in ordering (as in recent trials at TGI Fridays and IHOP restaurant chains), programming robots to move products around in warehouses (such as in grocery chain Albertsons), and transforming products into services (including creating software versions of physical assets, as organizations like General Electric have done).

Digital transformation is a real and ongoing challenge that often requires a radical rethinking of how an organization uses technology, people and processes to fundamentally change business performance. Replatforming on new technologies is often critical in digital transformation; it often also requires collaboration across departments in pairing business philosophies with rapid application development models.

There are, of course, more concerns facing industry today. But no one said that life in the C-suite was going to be easy. As an Alberta-based entrepreneur, what’s on your mind?