How Strategic Software Maintenance Can Solve Key CIO Challenges

Having a tactical partner can free up CIOs to focus on what they really need—innovation. 

Over the last five years, the CIO role has evolved from a technical expert specializing in operations to a key business leader responsible for driving innovation and growth. CIOs are now challenged to become change agents; digital transformation leaders; AI, ML, and automation experts; security and risk mitigation specialists; visionaries; digital evangelists; and data stewards—all while also juggling cost control and performance, often with constrained resources. 

But what if you could offload some of the day-to-day to a trusted partner who would care about your IT estate as much as you do?  

An independent software maintenance provider like Origina can be that strategic partner, helping to extend the life and value of software as well as support it. Going beyond just mitigating tickets, a good maintenance expert can function as an extension of your technical team, executing your IT roadmap and maximizing your software ROI. 

Here are three major CIO challenges and how third-party software maintenance can help mitigate them.  

1. Finding funding for AI initiatives 

Many CIOs are under pressure to deploy AI and ML but lack budget headroom. While essential, the ongoing costs associated with maintaining OEM software often pose significant challenges to financial planning, particularly when trying to find budget dollars for growth and innovation projects.  

OEM software maintenance involves a variety of recurring costs, from licensing fees to updates to support contracts. While these expenditures can help with overall operational stability, they often represent a substantial portion—estimates range between 70% to 90%—of a company’s total IT budget, which leaves little for innovation. 

Gartner found that third-party software support alternatives “offer cost-cutting and cost-avoidance opportunities for organizations to reduce current- and future-year OpEx spend and budget.” The organization’s Market Guide also notes that independent experts provide increased flexibility in maintenance and support contracts, allowing organizations to opt out of new and future software versions and release upgrades if they are considered unnecessary and too costly. Those savings can then be invested into new projects. 

2. Mitigating cybersecurity threats 

With global cybercrime costs expected to climb to $10.5 trillion this year, CIOs must have a thorough understanding of how to best strengthen their security postures. The average cost of a data breach in the United States alone is $4.45 million.  

Considering the severity of the situation, the outdated OEM patch/fix approach itself is not enough to protect your IT estate. Companies need security risk management programs that can respond quickly to intelligence data and leverage existing resources and security solutions.  

Independent experts like Origina are rewriting the narrative on cybersecurity protection, offering a multilayered, defense-in-depth approach that includes 24/7/365 access to tailored, proactive data that alerts companies to potential risks. Understanding what the real threats are and what could be coming down the road is crucial to defend your organization before threat actors strike. 

3. Navigating the IT skills gap 

It’s no secret CIOs are struggling to recruit and retain IT talent. One study found that more than a quarter of IT leaders are having trouble finding professionals with the necessary AI/ML and security skill sets. 

And what about maintaining those all-important, mission-critical systems?  

Younger workers who have replaced retirees were trained on different systems. Senior staffers spent most of their careers working with Db2 and Cognos, for example, while new hires who have recently graduated were trained in the cloud or app development.  

Independent software maintenance can fill this skills gap, as well as help to control increasing payroll expenses. Origina has a team of over 600 global product experts, each with decades of experience working on their specific products. In fact, many were the original architects and developers responsible for the solutions you use every day. 

Future-proofing IT leadership 

There doesn’t seem to be enough hours in a day to fulfill the laundry list of expectations CIOs are challenged to accomplish. Independent software maintenance and support can help ease that burden and address crucial issues within your IT ecosystem, while improving overall efficiency, mitigating technical debt, and enhancing security and compliance.  

Outgrown your old playbook? Contact us today.