Part One of the Guiding Lights series, by CTO Chelsea Chamberlin
Clear. But impossible.
What follows isn’t a detailed step-by-step road map for delivering that “impossible”; but it might be a key to unlocking the path to a “more than enough” version of digital transformation.
Sorting the Wi-Fi out isn’t a 10-minute job – it’s a major infrastructure challenge.
In the last decade, it feels like the only constant has been change. At the time of writing, I am struck by how normal the abnormal has become – from political instability, to inflation, to supply chain disruption and to intense levels of scrutiny on spending.
So, while the context for technology leaders feels unforgiving, user demand can be even more brutal. Employees compare workplace IT with their consumer experiences — far more seamless, intuitive, personalized, and powered by AI — and are frustrated by the gap. The workplace experience feels “cheap” in comparison and the barriers to productivity almost personal reflecting a refusal or inability of the organization to invest in the tools that would genuinely help.
Relentless restrictions on capital investment (as well as other barriers such as security requirements and increased governance) mean that the gap between expectation and reality is only widening as our infrastructure creaks and groans under the weight of demand. Networks built 8–10 years ago are expected to carry modern, bandwidth-heavy applications like Teams and carry data quickly enough to feed real-time applications, observability tools, and even localised AI models. CIOs want to trial customer experience innovations – from AI-driven HR support to digital self-service for citizens – but will remain either blocked or unsuccessful until basic infrastructure issues – like the basics of connectivity – are resolved.
So, CIOs must keep the transformation agenda on track, while still considering financial, resource, and time constraints by combining pragmatism with creativity.
Sometimes that will mean rip and replace is the only answer BUT real and very effective value can more often than not be achieved by looking at what is already in place and by finding ways to get more “bounce for your ounce”
Often, the term “legacy” is framed as a weakness. But too many enterprises fail to use the full capabilities of their existing systems. We can reframe our approach to look for ways to use what organizations already own (existing), and which can still be a source of value. Software and OS upgrades and version releases, often deliver new and improved functionality, yet so often, organizations patch only for security, and fail to leverage new features that could enable system and functional features such as AI analytics or cloud integration.
Infrastructure deployed years ago can be kept current through major releases, enabling migration to enterprise cloud and unlocking advanced monitoring — all without a costly hardware refresh. These are the “quiet wins” that deliver big ROI, but they require a mindset shift from benign neglect to continuous reinvestment and improvement.
Every CIO faces pressure from three sides: users demanding better digital experiences, finance leaders enforcing austerity, and boards and regulators insisting on tighter cyber controls. The upshot is often a version of tech paralysis. What is needed is a new discipline: pragmatic modernization.
We can break this down into three principles.
The recent London connectivity outage proved dual-carrier strategies fail if both rely on the same ducts – but realism dictates this is likely to be an ongoing risk without a significant amount resource spent adapting the systems we have. Adding layers of monitoring, automation, and failover processes can turn “older” systems into resilient ones. Older systems often have stability, proven processes, and institutional knowledge built around them. Tearing them out can create more risk than it removes. Building resilience into what already works maintains business continuity while organically modernizing.
Cybersecurity has become both the sharpest constraint and the biggest enabler. Fear often paralyses organizations. The smarter stance is to accept that breaches happen (literally). Educate every user, protect the “crown jewels,” and build resilience into behaviour as much as systems. Quite simply encouraging (even rewarding) people to raise their hand when something is wrong by removing the stigma around breaches, loss or error. We should remember that when a large (anonymous) technology consulting firm moved from firing the people who left their laptops on the train, to providing helplines and rapid response tech support, reporting of lost items rose by 1750%. As a result potentially damaging data losses were resolved before they even happened.
The link between cloud adoption and cybersecurity often gets lost in the noise. Cloud can be a huge enabler of resilience and stronger security when it’s done thoughtfully. Cloud doesn’t just “move” your systems — it creates opportunities to build adaptive, resilient, and automated cybersecurity. Instead of relying on manual or static defences or dusty boxes in a data centre, it enables continuous monitoring, rapid recovery, and smarter access controls — all crucial to create a softer landing in a world of threat.
We live in a culture obsessed with the “next”. The queue that snakes around the block before the new iPhone is released for sale, the lifecycle of celebrity, the shift from VHS, to DVD, to streaming to TikTok – we admire and value the shiny and the new. But transformation doesn’t have to mean wholesale change. CIOs can unlock incremental value by:
Treat upgrades as opportunities, not chores.
Empower technical teams to define solutions. Bring IT out of the basement and into the boardroom.
Replace ‘big bang’ projects with a culture of reinvestment and improvement.
Tap into Chelsea’s expertise for insights on the trends, tools and AI helping to shape the future of technology.
Spark the conversation with Chelsea
Emerging technology has an irresistible pull. Every CIO knows the feeling: a new platform promises efficiency, a new algorithm claims intelligence, a new vendor insists you’re falling behind. The pressure to adopt can be immense — from boards, from peers, from the market itself.
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It’s often said that Albert Einstein defined insanity as doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting a different result. Whether or not he said it, the point stands. Organisations talk endlessly about change, yet so often repeat the same mistakes.
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Progress shouldn’t feel this hard. Yet for many organisations, despite years of digital investment, transformation can feel like driving with the handbrake on. The ambition and tools are there but something unseen slows everything down.
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True modernisation is less about speed – and more about substance. We talk about modernisation as if it’s a race – a finish line you can cross and then move on. It isn’t.
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The best kind of change is often the kind you don’t notice happening. Systems run smoother, processes feel easier, people stop sighing at their screens – and suddenly everything just works a little better.
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Partnerships sit at the heart of how most organisations now operate. Whether it’s suppliers, delivery partners, or internal teams, very little is achieved in isolation.
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Chief Technology Officer (CTO)
Chelsea Chamberlin leads Roc’s Solution and Technology strategy, ensuring continual innovation and focussed partnerships which drive outcome based value for our customers. Chelsea’s background includes designing and delivering software and networking solutions within mission critical environments. Outside of work she is a green belt in Kick-boxing and mentor to young women paving careers in tech.
Partnerships sit at the heart of how most organisations now operate. Whether it’s suppliers, delivery partners, or internal teams, very little is achieved in isolation. Yet partnership is also one of the areas where good intentions often outpace good design.
The best kind of change is often the kind you don’t notice happening. Systems run smoother, processes feel easier, people stop sighing at their screens – and suddenly everything just works a little better.
True modernisation is less about speed – and more about substance. We talk about modernisation as if it’s a race – a finish line you can cross and then move on. It isn’t.
The modern enterprise has shifted beyond recognition.
Hybrid working is embedded, cloud adoption continues at pace, and data now moves across a range of devices, locations, and applications. As this digital footprint expands, the traditional network perimeter has dissolved.
AI has altered the physics of cybersecurity. Threats now move faster than policies can adapt, and defences evolve in real time. The traditional idea of resilience – static controls, periodic reviews, and defined perimeters – no longer fits.
In an era where many students invest over £60,000 in a university education, the question of value for money has become a defining factor in university choice. But “value” is not universal.
Enterprise networks have reached an inflection point. Hybrid working is now embedded, cloud applications proliferate, and data moves continuously between users, devices and locations. UK organisations now manage more cloud identities than traditional endpoints, and more than half of enterprise traffic originates outside the office. As a result, network reliability, security and performance have shifted from operational concerns to board-level priorities.
AI is now woven into every part of cybersecurity operations. It analyses behaviour, identifies anomalies, and increasingly, takes action on its own. It’s faster, tireless, and in many cases more consistent than any analyst could be. But with that progress comes a harder question: how much decision-making are we prepared to give away?
There’s no escaping the squeeze. Demand is rising, budgets are flat, and no one’s in the mood for another “game-changing” announcement. People have heard so many promises of ‘once in a generation’ transformation that hype doesn’t hold much weight anymore.