Latest news with #CIO
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
What Micron's Upbeat Forecast Signals for Tech Stocks
Kim Forrest, Bokeh Capital Partners founder and CIO, reacts to Micron's upbeat forecast on "Bloomberg The Close." Micron said fiscal fourth-quarter revenue will be roughly $10.7 billion, well ahead of the $9.89 billion average analyst estimate. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Bloomberg
2 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Best Buy Taps Walgreens Executive for Top Technology Role
Best Buy Co. has appointed Neal Sample as its new chief digital and technology officer. Sample most recently served as an executive vice president and chief information officer at Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. He had been at the pharmacy retailer for less than two years.
Forbes
2 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
FICO's Evolution From Scores To Scalable Software Intelligence
FICO headquarters in San Jose, California Mike Trkay, Chief Information Officer of FICO, plays a pivotal role in the company's transformation from a credit score provider to a $2 billion analytics software powerhouse. 'We have a number of products in our portfolio that are embedded with data modeling, machine learning and analytics,' he said. From fraud detection systems used by banks to software powering TSA security and logistics operations, FICO has evolved well beyond its origins. With over 60 years of legacy, FICO now operates across two primary strategic business units: the widely known FICO scores and its analytics software division. Throughout the company's history, it has differentiated through data analytics deeply embedded in software, and as capabilities related to data analytics have grown, FICO has continued to invest in the state-of-the-art. As such, Trkay's role is unusually broad, and his influence is just as broad. Redefining the CIO Role for Customer-Facing Innovation Trkay's responsibilities extend far beyond traditional CIO role. '[Traditional responsibilities are]The shift also brought Trkay into closer proximity with customers. 'It started with them wanting confidence that they weren't getting more of the same,' he said, describing early interactions with customers. That engagement matured over time, making operations not just a backend function but a key differentiator in FICO's go-to-market approach. Becoming a Strategic Partner Through Operational Excellence Unlike many CIOs whose customer interactions remain limited, Trkay and his team are now integral to FICO's client strategy. 'Our operations have actually grown into one of our sales strengths,' he noted. Clients not only evaluate software functionality but also look closely at the reliability of service delivery. 'World-class operations become a market differentiator.' FICO CIO Mike Trkay Trkay views operations as essential to revenue retention and long-term client success, and he thinks about his team's fit with other customer-facing functions within FICO with the analogy of personal relationships. 'The sales team gets to date the customer, professional services are the engagement, and operations is the marriage,' he quipped. His organization measures success through KPIs tied directly to customer satisfaction and risk mitigation. 'Are we creating risk for divorce?' he asked in keeping with the analogy. 'That's a key question we ask ourselves.' Building a Team Fit for Performance and Scale FICO's operating model demands a uniquely structured team. The corporate IT function is led by a dedicated executive, Matt Dixon, who Trkay says would be what you'd call the CIO in most companies. Supporting him are customer-facing groups like technical operations, customer support and engineering. 'We cover apps, infrastructure and customers,' Trkay said. His team includes system administrators, DevOps engineers and software professionals who deploy, manage and scale production environments. Customer support roles also require soft skills to complement technical acumen. 'These are the people answering the phone, interfacing with the client and resolving complex issues,' he added. AI-Driven Operations and a Passion for AIOps A self-proclaimed advocate for AIOps, Trkay is leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning to transform FICO's internal operations. 'We're an AI and analytics company,' he emphasized. 'It's in our DNA.' The exponential growth of data from observability and monitoring has made human analysis nearly impossible. Trkay emphasized the transition from rules-based systems to model-based solutions. 'Models have been trained to recognize signals, correlate root causes and even recommend or implement fixes,' he explained. 'It's one of my true passions. I probably get more involved than I should, but the impact is too important to ignore.' Leading Through Experience and Enabling Customer Success The transformations FICO has undergone, from on-prem to cloud and from cloud to platform, mirror those of its clients. Trkay sees this not as a coincidence but as a strength. 'We've gone on the journey ourselves,' he said. 'We're not talking about theory or potential. We're talking about lived experience.' He noted how this evolution has changed customer conversations. 'Platforms bring business and technology back together,' he noted. 'We're no longer just speaking with CROs. We're now seeing CTOs reenter the dialogue, because platforms demand that level of integration and extensibility.' Innovation to Stay Ahead of Unprecedented Growth Since Trkay joined FICO, the company's stock has risen roughly 3,600%. Managing ahead of that growth has required constant innovation. 'The 'I' in CIO needs to stand for innovation,' he underscored. 'We have to flip the IT stereotype on its head. Our job is to innovate to stay stable.' Whether enabling real-time fraud detection at scale or ensuring ultra-low latency across tens of thousands of transactions per second, Trkay's team has had to be forward-thinking and agile. 'We're not just keeping up with growth,' he said, adding 'We're staying ahead of it.' Focused Language Models Looking forward, Trkay is enthusiastic about the rise of focused language models. 'Everyone knows about large language models like ChatGPT,' he said, 'but when you're an enterprise, you need models with specificity.' These smaller, industry- or use-case-specific models promise better accuracy and reduced hallucination. 'There's a very specific language around network data and technology incidents,' Trkay explained. 'Focus language models will be key to transforming how we apply AI to operations, financial services and beyond.' Trkay's impact at FICO reflects a broader shift in the role of technology leadership, one that fuses innovation, operational excellence and direct customer engagement. By driving AI-powered infrastructure, embedding himself in client-facing functions and preparing the company for sustained hypergrowth, Trkay has helped position FICO not only as a leader in analytics software but also as a model for modern, platform-driven enterprise transformation. Peter High is President of Metis Strategy, a business and IT advisory firm. He has written three bestselling books, including his latest Getting to Nimble. He also moderates the Technovation podcast series and speaks at conferences around the world. Follow him on Twitter @PeterAHigh.
Forbes
2 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
The Cloud Reset: Why Private Cloud Is Making A Comeback
Pankaj Gupta is Senior Director of Cloud solutions marketing at VMware by Broadcom. For over a decade, public cloud was the default answer to every IT modernization question. It was faster, cheaper and scalable—until it wasn't. Now, as the dust settles and CIOs reevaluate their cloud strategies, a striking trend is emerging: a decisive 'cloud reset.' According to my company's 2025 report—based on insights from 1,800 IT leaders across the globe—organizations are no longer viewing cloud as a one-way journey to hyperscalers. Instead, they are intentionally shifting workloads back into private cloud environments. The reasons? Security, compliance and cost control. A recent IDC research blog corroborates these findings, highlighting the increasing adoption of private cloud or on-premise computing practices. Beyond The Binary: A Strategic Mix The idea that enterprises must choose between public or private cloud is outdated. In fact, 93% of surveyed organizations already use a mix of both, but the shift we're seeing is about intention. IT leaders are starting to prioritize private cloud for the right workloads—particularly where data sovereignty, compliance and cost predictability are paramount. This isn't cloud repatriation driven by nostalgia. It's driven by optimization and business needs. Repatriation: No Longer A Dirty Word A full 69% of organizations are considering repatriating workloads, and 35% have already done so—with security-sensitive applications leading the charge. What's more telling is that 51% of those citing repatriation did so specifically for security and compliance reasons—and 46% for data-intensive workloads. In today's regulatory climate—where GDPR, HIPAA and global data protection laws dominate IT decision-making—control matters. And 92% of respondents say they trust private cloud more for security and compliance than public alternatives. Cost predictability and optimization is another key driver. As per our findings, 94% believe some of their public cloud spend is wasted, and 31% believe more than half of it is. Private Cloud: Agility Meets Control A few years ago, private cloud was considered slow, siloed and too dependent on legacy infrastructure. That's changed. Modern private cloud platforms now offer self-service provisioning, container support and integrated FinOps tools. In fact, 84% of enterprises run both traditional and cloud-native workloads in their private cloud today, demonstrating that private environments are no longer just for legacy applications. More impressively, 53% of enterprises plan to deploy new workloads in private cloud, reflecting growing confidence in its agility and maturity. The Generative AI Factor With generative AI moving up the CIO priority list, private cloud is also emerging as a strategic foundation for AI workloads that require data privacy, low latency and cost control. Hyperscalers offer unmatched scale, but organizations are growing wary of exposing proprietary data to third-party platforms. Running LLMs and inference engines in a controlled, compliant private environment offers a compelling alternative. Why The Reset Now? This 'cloud reset' isn't reactive—it's reflective. IT organizations have gained real-world experience and are recalibrating based on five key realities: 1. Security Is Nonnegotiable: Nearly a third of IT leaders cite public cloud security risks as their top challenge. 2. Financial Waste Is Visible: Cloud cost unpredictability is a board-level issue. CIOs need clarity and control. 3. Compliance Isn't Optional: Global regulations are forcing tighter control over data residency and access. 4. Skills Matter: Running private clouds well requires talent and breaking operational silos. Many are now reskilling and reorganizing their teams accordingly. 5. Application Needs Vary: Back-office, data-heavy, and even modern apps now have viable paths in private cloud. This isn't about undoing cloud migration. It's about optimizing placement—application by application—based on business, regulatory and financial priorities. The Way Ahead To truly harness the power of the private cloud, organizations must do three things: 1. Break Silos: IT teams need to break down their traditional silos to achieve business goals, such as better agility, cost optimization and regulatory compliance. They can do this by encouraging collaboration across different IT and business teams, facilitating better data-sharing and communication practices. 2. Invest In Cross-Skilled Teams: To accelerate private cloud adoption, organizations need to address persistent skill gaps with focused training and vendor collaboration. 3. Treat The Private Cloud As A Platform—Not A Project: Treating the private cloud as a platform is essential for unlocking its full potential, fostering continuous innovation and agility for the entire organization. This strategic shift moves beyond a one-off project mindset, focusing instead on building a foundational environment for ongoing development and value creation. IT leaders should also ask themselves a few questions to embrace this mindset. What workloads make sense to move back? Which ones should stay public? And how do we maximize both? The cloud conversation is evolving. From cost to compliance, and from generative AI to governance, the smart enterprise isn't choosing sides—it's choosing strategy. Forbes Communications Council is an invitation-only community for executives in successful public relations, media strategy, creative and advertising agencies. Do I qualify?
Forbes
3 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
Inside Kelly Services Tech And AI Journey With CIO Sean Perry
A Kelly Services Inc. booth during a Job News USA career fair in Jeffersonville, Indiana Sean Perry, Chief Information Officer of Kelly Services, oversees global technology for a company dedicated to connecting job seekers with opportunities across multiple sectors. "We help people on a daily basis find meaningful work," Perry shared. "To be able to leverage technology to deliver that is something that has been a great enjoyment throughout my career." Kelly Services has a diversified portfolio, including professional and industrial staffing as well as fast-growing education, science, engineering and technology sectors. The company generates approximately $4.3 billion in annual revenue. Under Perry's leadership, the company is driving forward with a modernization initiative that updates legacy systems and integrates cutting-edge solutions, all while preserving the company's mission of making work accessible and fulfilling. A CIO's Strategy for Long-Term Tech Evolution Perry's purview encompasses every aspect of global technology at Kelly. "If it plugs in and it's not working, it's IT," he joked. But his responsibilities go much deeper, focusing on long-term modernization during a time of rapid technological transformation. 'We're trying to make good decisions that'll last 10 years,' he explained. 'What worked four years ago isn't necessarily going to help us today.' A core focus has been integrating recently acquired companies. "Engaging those acquisitions and bringing them onto the Kelly core eliminates friction," Perry said. "We're also rethinking our applicant tracking, CRM and ERP systems, tools that have existed for a long time and now need modernization." Learning from Acquisitions and Building Stronger Foundations Kelly's acquisition of Motion Recruitment in April 2024 exemplifies the CIO's open approach to innovation. Perry praised Motion for its forward-thinking architecture when he said, 'They had implemented Workday, connected it to Bullhorn and added a CRM. It was a fresh, modern tech stack.' Kelly CIO Sean Perry Rather than enforcing top-down integration, Perry emphasized mutual learning. 'The 'Kelly Core' might need to change to accommodate this more capable technology,' he noted. He acknowledged challenges in scaling a system designed for a smaller private equity-backed company but noted that 'the Core is all there,' providing a leg up in their transformation AI through Governance and Grace AI has become a key enabler of Kelly's modernization. Perry described the AI Council's three-pronged approach: legal and compliance, external opportunity scouting and internal process evaluation. 'You had this sea of change coming in,' he said, 'and the Council had already built a model for how to assess and measure opportunities.' One of the most impactful outputs was Grace, a lightweight AI interface built internally. 'We support close to 5,000 users on about $700 a month of AI spend,' Perry revealed. Grace allows employees across the organization to experiment with AI without needing individual accounts. It also collects data to surface popular use cases. 'For example, reformatting a resume is a common task,' he offered. 'We built that functionality directly into Grace.' The Power of Contextual AI and Emerging Opportunities Perry is now spearheading an initiative to embed AI contextually into SaaS applications used by Kelly. 'Grace as a separate website was a good first step,' he said. 'But now we're working on embedding it in the actual tools people use, like Bullhorn or Workday.' The goal is to eliminate friction—copying and pasting between systems—and to deliver assistance at the moment it's needed. 'Shouldn't AI work like a digital adoption platform? Always available and in context?' Perry asked. The prototype, already demonstrated internally, is aimed at providing proactive, intelligent support across platforms. Reflections from Amazon and a Product-Led IT Mindset Perry had prior CIO experience, spending 13 years as the CIO of Robert Half International. In between that experience and his current role, however, he spent took an unusual turn as Senior Manager of Technical Program Management at Amazon. Perry's time at Amazon left a lasting impression. Working on both Kindle and Halo, a health and fitness tracking service and devices that was discontinued in 2023, he learned the discipline of customer-centric product development that company is famous for. "Amazon taught me to step back and ask, 'What's the customer problem I'm trying to solve?' rather than 'What feature should I build next?' He has since brought that philosophy to internal product development at Kelly, introducing planning processes inspired by Amazon's OP1 methodology. "We had each team write six-page documents about their wins, challenges and priorities," he said, highlighting another famous practice that Jeff Bezos introduced at Amazon years ago. "It surfaced common pain points and helped us align more effectively." A Future Fueled by AI and Human Potential Looking ahead, Perry is excited about the rapid evolution of AI. 'Capabilities that seemed impossible six months ago are now within reach,' he said. But he's mindful of the uneven distribution of understanding and success with AI. 'Some developers are building full-stack solutions with AI in hours while others are still struggling to fix bugs introduced by AI-generated code.' Ultimately, Perry is betting big on context-aware AI. 'We're discovering use cases everywhere, even in internal audit,' he noted. 'Now we have more justification to invest because we can see real usage and value. Our challenge is how quickly we can move from prototype to production because the potential to empower our workforce is enormous.' Peter High is President of Metis Strategy, a business and IT advisory firm. He has written three bestselling books, including his latest Getting to Nimble. He also moderates the Technovation podcast series and speaks at conferences around the world. Follow him on Twitter @PeterAHigh.
