"A CIO needs to be visionary, creative, passionate, energetic, confident, self motivated, risk taking and persistent."

MIKE PATEL
CIO & VP of Business Services
San Jose Medical Group

Mike, as CIO and VP of Business Services, is responsible for IT strategy and execution along with Business Services department that oversee revenue cycle. He is an executive committee member at BAYVP, a community non-profit organization. Mike served as a member of Fremont Unified School District Site Council board from 2005 to 2009. Mike has more than 20 years of healthcare information technology and management experience.

Challenges in technology to meet enterprise needs in 2013 and expectations
Businesses  are  struggling  on  how  to access the massive amounts of data they collect from multiple sources every day. Worse, once they do access that data, they are unsure of how to mine it for business advantage. Business cycles are becoming shorter, driving the need for faster and more competitive decision making. Another big challenge for us in 2013 includes building technology infrastructure for Health Care Reform initiatives such as Affordable Care Act which  requires  millions  of  uninsured people to buy their health insurance from state owned or private health insurance exchanges. We  also  need  to  get  our systems  ready to participate in Accountable Care programs which require very sophisticated systems from claims processing to population management. The areas in business environment where solutions do not yet exist or not up to the mark, and which if existed, would've made job easier

Today’s Network needs to be smarter and invisible
Today’s network connects everything. There is a need for improvements in network reliability and resiliency, coupled with intelligent end to end points that provide the foundation for connecting smart applications, smart devices and smarter people.
Security – No longer is strong security an option, it is a requirement for all organizations to protect their intellectual and physical capital and customer identities. Security breaches can occur on fixed and mobile networks and its impact on business will be huge.

Technology Trends Impacting Enterprise Business Environment Cloud  Computing
In  2012,  more companies embraced cloud technology and there’s no doubt that this trend will continue in 2013. With the advancements in  the  cloud  technology  –  including advanced privacy and security features, legislation is being revised to ensure this technology is included.
Analytics – As data storage continues to grow and businesses recognize their potential value, the demand for Big Data Analytics increases. IT’s role is to enable high-performance analytics capabilities at low cost and with easy access.

Smart Mobility - Today’s swift to mobility is similar to the changes Internet brought in the 1990’s. Driven by innovation and consumer adoption, mobile devices have become an integral part of our personal and professional lives.

My roles and responsibilities as a CIO
Looking back into the past couple of years, it’s evident to see how my role as CIO has changed. I am involved with innovation and growth, business strategy and process. I am delegating   more IT operations  to  trusted  lieutenants  while initiating new products, services and tools for  competitive  advantage. I am more involved in organization and team management; ensuring  that   my  team communicates effectively  with IT customers, creating quick wins for business   partners. Maintaining strong relationship with executive colleagues is also a must as a CIO.

Lessons I learned as a CIO that can help you
Get everyone to talk to each other: Collaborate beyond what is currently imagined, using new channels and new schedules with new tools. Use policy as carrot, not stick. Communicate, communicate and communicate some more.
Simplify things: Be relentless in the pursuit of easier ways to get work done.
Embrace the power of analytics: Educate yourself, your team, and your organization about the power of analytics and data mining. Maintain “end-to-end” view of technology’s role to deliver business value.
Think like an entrepreneur every day: CIO needs to be visionary, creative, passionate, energetic, confident, self-motivated, risk taking and persistent.