By John Ruthven

Although technology executives have always supported business processes, companies have never relied so heavily on CIOs to improve the customer experience. Today, many CIOs are focusing more attention on enhanced services designed to improve customer interaction. They are mastering new and emerging technologies that make transactions easier for customers.

What's driving the trend? The way customers interact with companies and the processes that support customer services are becoming much more technology dependent. The CIO has increasing responsibility, along with sales and marketing, to ensure that customer interfaces are meaningful and effective — whether it's for an online retail environment or business-to-business interactions.

Technology enables customers to gain access to company information in a timely manner. One area that's blossoming is the concept of the user community, which allows people in an organization to interact directly with customers. During the selling cycle, there are numerous touch points where the customer gathers knowledge. Through the entire process, timely and relevant access to the right people is critical.

CIOs are using technologies such as knowledge management and content management to help companies transform the way they interact with customers. Most companies have large quantities of data available. They're leveraging that information in a way that's meaningful in their interaction with customers. For example, customers want to work with vendors who know their business and are experts in capturing customer information. Customers are then able to reference that information and apply it for personalization and user preferences.

For front-end applications to work optimally for users, it's important that the IT infrastructure and back-end systems are reliable, well-managed and secure. Delivering high-quality IT services, as defined in bestpractices frameworks such as the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL®), is extremely important to enhancing the customer experience.

Along with providing the enabling technologies, CIOs are enhancing their own understanding of the customer and the customer's needs. We've been saying for the last decade or more that IT needs to be aligned with the business. To achieve that alignment, the CIO — as the business' technology leader — has to understand the needs of the customer at a much more granular level than in the past.

The trend toward the customer-focused CIO is especially important in industries that rely heavily on technology, such as telecommunications and financial services. But businesses across the board, whether they're in manufacturing, health care, insurance, transportation or other industries, are learning how important it is to have technology executives who are customer-savvy. CIOs realize the importance of listening to the customer and building communities such as customer advisories and feedback committees/communities around these customers. For example, at CA we initiated the EITM flagship program, where we have the ability to sit face to face with customers and have meaningful discussions.

Customer Relations — The CIO's Job
The most successful companies have always been customer focused. Historically, this has been done through departments such as sales, marketing and customer relations. But with technology evolving to the point where it deeply affects nearly every aspect of the business, the CIO has been thrust to the forefront of improving customer interactions.

As businesses begin to break down the silos that exist between marketing, sales and the executive suite, technology will be the glue that holds the organization together. CIOs are in prime position to lead this change and meet this challenge.

John Ruthven is executive VP of worldwide sales operations at CA.

ITIL® is a Registered Trademark of the U.K. Office of Government Commerce.