The Rise of the Multilingual CIO – ITPro Today
TechTarget and Informa Tech’s Digital Business Combine.TechTarget and Informa
Together, we power an unparalleled network of 220+ online properties covering 10,000+ granular topics, serving an audience of 50+ million professionals with original, objective content from trusted sources. We help you gain critical insights and make more informed decisions across your business priorities.
Insight and analysis on the information technology space from industry thought leaders.
Successful CIOs must become "multilingual," being able to translate tech into business outcomes to win their CFO’s trust, especially in the AI era.
May 22, 2025
By Sumit Johar, CIO of BlackLine
Tensions between chief information officers (CIOs) and chief financial officers (CFOs) around technology investments are rising, according to a recent KPMG report. The study suggests that CFOs perceive technology spending as excessive, while CIOs argue that these investments are necessary to support the evolving needs of the business. This disagreement is becoming more pronounced as the pressure to adopt artificial intelligence (AI) and other next-gen technologies rises.
As AI continues to garner attention, the stakes are higher than ever before. On the one hand, AI promises to unlock significant efficiencies and business advantages. Conversely, the complexity, cost, and interoperability concerns that come with it are top of mind for CFOs. Add to this the new complexity of tariffs threatening profitability, and the pressure is on. This dynamic creates a unique opportunity for the CIO — particularly one who can navigate both the technical and financial landscapes. Enter the "multilingual CIO."
A multilingual CIO is a professional who speaks fluently about technology, while also communicating effectively across sectors of the business, particularly finance. They must be able to bridge the gap between tech innovation and financial pragmatism, ensuring that technology investments increase ROI and contribute to business outcomes.
Combat IT Burnout: How Leaders Can Reduce Team Stress
In a world where technologies like AI, without focused planning, could overwhelm an organization's resources, the role of the CIO has evolved. Historically, CIOs were focused on managing infrastructure and keeping the lights on. Today, the role has expanded to include translating complex tech concepts into business value that resonates with the C-suite. A multilingual CIO speaks the language of tech, business, and finance, helping guide the organization through the noise and toward impactful solutions.
After many conversations with my current CFO and others in previous organizations, I've found CFOs prioritize three things: growth, margins, and efficiency. Any tool that requires an investment will raise a key question by the CFO: How will this influence the company's top and bottom line? With over 75% of businesses using AI, CFOs are taking a hard look at this technology — and rightfully so. It was reported that $18 million in software is going unused within enterprises. With AI adoption only continuing to rise, the multilingual CIO must close the gap between their CFO and strengthen their understanding of each other and their priorities to maximize value of existing and future tech investments.
IT Consolidation on the Rise: Where to Start, What to Keep
To bridge this gap, the multilingual CIO must focus on demonstrating the strategic business value of each investment, ensuring that decisions are backed by measurable outcomes that resonate with the CFO's priorities. Often, investment in AI ultimately contributes to the CFO's main objectives. The key is communicating how it applies directly to the CFO to increase their understanding of the technology itself.
The acceleration of AI tools is reminiscent of the SaaS sprawl we experienced in the past decade. Much like the SaaS boom, AI's rapid growth has led to an overwhelming number of solutions competing for attention. However, without proper governance, this "AI sprawl" could lead to duplicated efforts, wasted budgets, and fragmented systems that do not deliver business value.
A multilingual CIO is a critical player in this governance. Within my enterprise, I've instituted a rigorous technology council that evaluates every tech purchase to ensure it aligns with our broader strategic objectives. This process helps to manage AI investments in a controlled and measured way. It also allows us to avoid rogue purchasing decisions that can create chaos within the organization.
Building a Championship-Worthy IT Strategy — Lessons from Fantasy Football
The multilingual CIO ensures that the company isn't just adopting AI for the sake of innovation but doing so in a way that makes sense for the business. By taking a measured approach, the CIO can ensure the tech stack is coherent, scalable, and aligned with long-term business goals.
There's also an increasing debate about whether to build or buy AI solutions. On the one hand, the allure of off-the-shelf AI tools is compelling, with major players in the industry offering turnkey solutions. However, these solutions can come with hidden costs, such as vendor lock-in and inflexibility in terms of integration with existing systems.
It is key for the CIO to assess whether buying a solution truly aligns with the company's needs or if it's better to build a customized solution that offers greater control and scalability.
To come to this conclusion, CIOs must ask tough questions: What's the total cost of ownership over the long term? Will this solution scale with the business? How easily will it integrate with existing systems? Does the provider have proprietary data or knowledge for my use case that I don't have access to?
For instance, while one-stop-shop solutions are convenient tools for certain elements of the business, sometimes building a solution tailored to specific business needs is more cost-effective in the long run, especially when it comes to interoperability and future-proofing the tech stack.
The multilingual CIO ensures these questions are asked early and often, helping to avoid costly mistakes down the line.
As IT leaders, we're experts in the latest innovations. However, CFOs may not have the same technical depth. They may not fully grasp how AI can impact the bottom line or improve efficiency in ways that justify the investment.
That's where the multilingual CIO plays an important role — educating the CFO and the board. It's up to the CIO to translate technical concepts into business terms. For instance, instead of just discussing the technical capabilities of an AI tool, a multilingual CIO will frame the conversation around how that tool will reduce operational costs, drive revenue growth, or improve customer satisfaction.
The CIO must foster a deeper understanding within the C-suite of how AI can be leveraged to meet the company's strategic business goals, ultimately earning the CFO's trust and backing.
As AI technologies evolve, IT is no longer just a cost center; it's a driver of business innovation. The multilingual CIO is uniquely positioned to lead this shift, not only by managing IT resources but also by championing transformative projects that add business value. For instance, AI has helped my team reduce basic operational tasks from 70-80% of our IT team's time to just 40%, freeing up resources to focus on strategic initiatives.
To gain the CFO's trust, CIOs must translate technical concepts into business outcomes, demonstrating the value of technology investments like AI. By speaking the language of finance, the multilingual CIO bridges gaps, drives strategic initiatives, and positions IT as a crucial enabler of long-term business success.
About the author:
Sumit Johar is CIO of BlackLine. He came to BlackLine with more than 20 years of enterprise cloud experience spanning applications, infrastructure, cybersecurity, data governance and engineering, and automation. He most recently served as CIO at Automation Anywhere, a leading provider of AI-powered intelligent automation solutions. Previously, Sumit was CIO at enterprise mobile security provider MobileIron, where in just his first two years, he significantly reduced operational costs while making room for digital transformation initiatives. Before that, he led Enterprise Applications at TIBCO Software for 10 years and also held management-level consulting and engineering positions at Wipro and Infosys. Sumit holds a Bachelor of Technology degree in Computer Science and Engineering from the National Institute of Technology Kurukshetra.
Industry Perspectives
You May Also Like
Nov 20, 2024
Nov 27, 2024
Nov 22, 2024
ITPro Today’s 2024 State of DevOps Report
BCDR Basics: A Quick Reference Guide for Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery
ITPro Today’s 2024 IT Priorities Report
Tech Careers: Quick Reference Guide to IT Job Titles
Copyright © 2025. This website is owned and operated by Informa TechTarget, part of a global network that informs, influences and connects the world’s technology buyers and sellers. All copyright resides with them. Informa PLC’s registered office is 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG. Registered in England and Wales. TechTarget, Inc.’s registered office is 275 Grove St. Newton, MA 02466.
source
This is a newsfeed from leading technology publications. No additional editorial review has been performed before posting.
