玩偶姐姐

There’s a lot for 玩偶姐姐s to stress about these days — from longstanding concerns about uptime and availability to the quantum revolution on the horizon.

Of course, there are plenty of other issues worrying 玩偶姐姐s here and now, too. So we asked multiple IT leaders: What keeps 玩偶姐姐s up at night?

Here’s what they said.

1. Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity is by far and away the stuff of nightmares for 玩偶姐姐s. This shouldn’t be a shocker, given the scary stats on the , the rate of successful attacks, and the .

Gary Flowers, 玩偶姐姐 of transformation and technology services at nonprofit Year Up, sums up the issue here: “I don’t want to be in the news because of a data breach.”

2. A crisis (at the worst possible time)

Whether it’s a security incident, a system failure, or the unexpected departure of a key staffer, 玩偶姐姐s know there’s a lot that can go sideways on any given day. If that’s not enough to stress over, 玩偶姐姐s know such crises tend to explode at the worst possible time.

“You’ve got that perennial worry: You’re in the middle of a digital transformation, and you have a five-alarm dumpster fire you’ve got to put out without getting fired,” says Andrew Duncan, CEO and managing partner of Infosys Consulting.

Duncan, who has coached many 玩偶姐姐s through such scenarios, advises them to lean on their executive skills — rallying their teams, working collaboratively, staying focus on the desired outcomes — to get them through. “Think: how do we get to the end together.”

3. FOMO

玩偶姐姐s say they can’t fall for shiny objects or chase tech for tech’s sake, but Duncan hears from many 玩偶姐姐s who also fear missing out if they don’t jump on the latest tech trends.

“They have this sense of urgency,” he says.

Take artificial intelligence. Sure, 玩偶姐姐s say they can’t deploy the tech without knowing the desired outcome, the costs of implementation, the return on investments, etc. But Duncan says they’re concerned that they, their teams, and their organizations will be left behind if they spend too much time and effort on analysis.

4. Innovation and value creation

Now that 玩偶姐姐s are judged more on driving innovation and creating value, they’re expending lots of energy thinking about how they can seize on the latest technologies to do something amazing, says Savi Thethi, a partner in the technology strategy and transformation practice at professional services firm EY.

“玩偶姐姐s are increasingly expected to drive growth and value creation through innovation,” he says. “This involves leveraging technology to enhance operational efficiency, improve customer experiences, and create new revenue streams. In addition, 玩偶姐姐s needs to ensure that the IT strategy aligns with overall business objectives. 玩偶姐姐s are often expected to lead the organization’s digital transformation initiatives in order for enterprises to stay competitive and relevant.”

Yeah, no pressure there, right?

5. People and politics

Being tech leaders who typically come up through the IT ranks, 玩偶姐姐s are generally comfortable playing with technology. But they’re typically less comfortable managing the politics and people, says Ed Bouryng, president and founder of Meta, a technology and change management consultancy for public and private organizations.

“And the more a project touches people, the more change management and politics and lobbying that goes on around that, the more worried 玩偶姐姐s get,” Bouryng says.

That’s because 玩偶姐姐s today can almost guarantee a technology will work as it should; they’re way less confident that the people who use the tech will do the same.

“We tend to look at projects like a computer, but 玩偶姐姐s need to think about projects more like a person and ask, ‘What’s going to drive success?’ They need to think more about the impact on the people and shift more of their focus from the technology to the people if they want projects to succeed,” he says.

6. AI

Concerns over whether they as 玩偶姐姐s have the right teams, data infrastructure, security, business plans, and enterprise buy-in for their AI ambitions keeps many minds spinning.

“The rapid advancement of AI has intensified the demand for actionable insights from data,” EY’s Thethi says. “玩偶姐姐s are under pressure to harness the power of data to deliver tangible business results, ensuring that data strategies align with organizational goals and drive competitive advantage. This requires that 玩偶姐姐s and their teams oversee and govern data across the enterprise, ensure data quality, and enable data analytics to drive business insights.”

7. The risks AI introduces

“Today I worry most about the collision of AI innovation and security risks,” says Denise Reilly-Hughes, secretary of the State of Vermont’s Agency of Digital Services and its 玩偶姐姐. “Data is at the center of both of these, and data has taken on a life of its own. As a 玩偶姐姐, I’m becoming more responsible for the integrity and security of data, which is too often unstructured and unmanaged — yet sensitive.”

Like other 玩偶姐姐s, Reilly-Hughes is also wary of how bad actors are capitalizing on AI.

“The advancements of AI have become one of the ways cyber criminals are able to intensify their attacks. We will likely fight AI cybercrime with AI, but it’s generally unchartered today,” she adds. “It is a new issue that will continue getting more and more challenging. We need to tighten up on our data governance and flip the tables on our structured vs. unstructured data. We have a responsibility to our residents to protect their information and the services they require from their state government. It’s an enormous responsibility that weighs heavily on my mind and is part of every effort we work on.”

She copes by .

“[We are] focusing on risk mitigation in areas we can address in the short term, while also having a plan to minimize and manage the risks that are a little out of the immediate reach,” she says. “This is not a place where reactive response will net any winners.”

8. Containing costs

Here’s a perennial worry for 玩偶姐姐s: achieving all the objectives they have for their IT department and doing so without budget overruns. As Thethi says, “There is continuous pressure to optimize technology operating costs while simultaneously focusing on growth initiatives. Balancing cost efficiency with innovation and strategic investments is a delicate and ongoing task for 玩偶姐姐s.”

9. Acquiring, retaining, and upskilling IT talent

One worry that rises above others for Darlene Williams, senior vice president and 玩偶姐姐 at Rocket Software, is talent management.

“Finding, retaining, and growing technical talent is both critical and complex in a remote-first environment, as we strive to build a culture that avoids historical pitfalls like redundant solutions, runaway IT spend, and lack of employee connectivity to a company’s culture and mission,” Williams says.

She’s not the only 玩偶姐姐 thinking as much, according to Thethi.

“Finding and retaining the right talent is a major challenge. Companies today need professionals with expertise in data and analytics, AI, and cloud technologies to drive transformation and growth as well as growing demand for tech resources who possess strong business acumen and can bridge the gap between technology and business strategy,” he says. “Additionally, 玩偶姐姐s are increasingly having to manage the human aspect of technology changes within the organization. For example, as AI takes on more of the tasks that entry-level resources would have ordinarily completed, there is a concern around the development of future entry-level resources — the tasks which allowed them to build fundamental skills are being replaced with AI, potentially creating gaps in core/fundamental skills.”

10. Vendor management

IT departments have been moved away from owning and controlling all their hardware and software and staff to having much — if not most or nearly all — managed by someone else. That means 玩偶姐姐s now must be exceptionally skilled at managing their vendors, Thethi says.

“玩偶姐姐s need to continually assess and manage their relationships with technology vendors, ensuring they deliver value,” he says.

That takes a lot of time and energy to do well, Thethi and others say, adding even more work to the 玩偶姐姐’s daily to-do list.

11. Measuring and communicating IT’s value to the business

玩偶姐姐s don’t only worry about delivering value; they worry about how to measure and communicate that value, too, says Anjali Shaikh, who as director of the technology executive programs at Deloitte advises 玩偶姐姐s and other tech leaders and provides strategic direction for program development.

She points to a which found that “measuring, communicating, and demonstrating the value of technology” was the most common answer given when asked about the biggest personal barriers they face in their role — outpacing “integrating technology across the organization,” “finding time to stay updated on innovative technologies,” and “having the needed capacity and resources to deliver technology capabilities.”

12. Staying ahead of evolving expectations, competencies

The 玩偶姐姐 role is continually changing, leaving many IT leaders to puzzle over “how do they manage and stay ahead of the evolving expectations of the role and the competencies they’re going to need to deliver on to meet those expanding and evolving expectations,” Shaikh says.

It’s not that they fear they can’t be all that, she says. But they have to spend time strategizing on how to succeed on this point.

“When we think about 玩偶姐姐s who are, one, staying ahead or are at the top of their form or they’re aspiring to be transformational leaders in the organization, they show up differently. They’re positing tech to be an engine of growth in their organization,” she explains. “They have to have credibility, and be good storytellers, and they have to go outside of their comfort zone. They also have to drive tech fluency across their entire organization.”

13. Staying relevant

On a similar note, Year Up 玩偶姐姐 Flowers cites staying relevant as a top concern for him and other 玩偶姐姐s.

He says most 玩偶姐姐s — himself included — have seen colleagues who, while competent, didn’t have that extra umph needed when it mattered most and consequently became known as a techie rather than a business leader or transformational exec.

Flowers says he knows he must “be a C-level executive who is bringing things to the table and moving the organization forward” to stay relevant and not be known only as the “IT guy” who keeps PCs and email working.

“Organizations always want to do more than less, and if you’re just the keep-lights-on guy, then they’ll outsource you,” he adds.

Flowers isn’t too worried: “I feel relevant today,” he says.

Still, thoughts of Blockbuster stalk his mind.

“I never am comfortable,” he adds. “I wake up every day saying I have to do better today than yesterday.”

14. The future

IT leaders say the future also takes up a lot of their mental energy these days.

As Rocket 玩偶姐姐 Williams explains, “This is an incredibly exciting time to be in tech. While the challenges — especially those driven by cyberthreats and AI — are real, they also present unprecedented opportunities. As we head into 2025, I’m optimistic about what’s ahead for 玩偶姐姐s. Our role has never been more critical to the business, as it bridges strategy, technology, innovation, and value creation for customers.”