Professor Eusebio Scornavacca, UB’s Parsons Professor of Digital Innovation and director of the Center for Digital Communications, Commerce and Culture, recently gave a presentation at the Mid-Atlantic CIO Forum, where CIOs from some of the largest information technology companies in the region gathered to network and share best practices. Prof. Scornavacca shared some views on how digital transformation is affecting the workforce.

According to Prof. Scornavacca, “unsuccessful digital transformation strategies tend to be siloed and technology focused. They lack a management focus, and fail to acknowledge the crucial importance of leadership, organizational culture and change management.”  The Forth Industrial Revolution is based on digital disruption and is dramatically changing industries and the skill-set needed for a successful workforce. In order to thrive (not only survive) in the digital economy organizations must develop a holistic digital transformation strategy that acknowledges the importance of workforce development. At the University of Baltimore, for example, the recent addition of the cybersecurity management degree and MBA specializations in Digital Business, Data Analytics and Cybersecurity and Organizational Resilience —aim to fill one such gap.

Scornavacca points out that we must to develop key organizational capabilities and individual competences in order to future-proofing businesses and workforce. It is necessary to have a systemic holistic approach in order to tackle the widening skills gap. As a result, companies must look for nontraditional applicants and incentivize employees to continue their education. The key is to invest in people and develop a disruption-ready culture.

In addition to the CIO Forum, Prof. Scornavacca has recently given a presentation talking about the societal implication of the diffusion of intelligent algorithms at the 13th Workshop on the Social Implications of National Security in Washington D.C.

Learn more about Professor Scornavacca and UB MBA specializations in Digital Business, Data Analytics and Cybersecurity and Organizational Resilience as well as UB’s new Master of Science in Cybersecurity Management program.