Mavsa Resort Convention Spa

Edson Portela

Decision Intelligence Champion

For many years, the success of an IT department was measured by the stability of its infrastructure. Systems needed to remain available, networks reliable, devices operational, and support requests resolved efficiently.

These fundamentals remain essential. However, as technology becomes more connected to business strategy, they are no longer enough to define the true impact of IT.

Today, one of the most important questions a technology leader should ask is not simply, “Is the system working?” but:

“What business decision became better because of this technology?”

In hospitality, this question is especially relevant. Technology influences the guest journey from arrival to dining, leisure, services, safety, and interactions with employees. For this reason, digital transformation cannot simply mean replacing paper with screens.

Digitization Is Only the Beginning

Recently, I was involved in the evolution of a process related to children’s check-in within a hospitality operation.

Initially, the objective seemed straightforward: digitize information from a less structured process, making registration faster, more organized, and more accessible to the teams responsible for guest care.

From a purely technological perspective, the project could have been considered successful as soon as the digital form was working.

But something more valuable happened when we began looking at the data generated by the process.

The information started revealing important aspects about the children staying at the property, including dietary restrictions, specific support needs, conditions requiring additional attention, and different levels of independence during recreational activities.

At that point, the initiative was no longer simply about digitization. The data started generating questions.

Who needs access to this information? When can it make a difference? How can a restriction identified during check-in reach the teams that need to act on it? How can recorded information become an action that improves safety, inclusion, or the guest experience?

This experience reinforced a belief that has become important in my work: Data should not only provide answers. It should generate better questions.

Data Creates Value When It Changes a Decision

Organizations are generating more data than ever. Dashboards, digital systems, business intelligence, and artificial intelligence have made it easier to collect and visualize information.

But having more data does not necessarily mean making better decisions.

A dashboard can be technically excellent and still create little value if no one knows what action should follow from the information it presents.

  In hospitality, technology leaders need to understand more than infrastructure and systems.  

The real value of data appears when it influences a decision.

If we identify a particular need among our guests, should an operational process change? Does a team need to be informed? Can we anticipate a need before it becomes a problem?

This shift transforms technology into a management tool. Instead of simply presenting numbers, we use data to better understand the operation and improve decisions.

Technology Must Reach the Operation

One of the greatest risks in digital transformation is creating technology disconnected from the reality of the people running the business.

A project can be technically sophisticated and still fail because it was not built around a real operational problem.

In hospitality, technology leaders need to understand more than infrastructure and systems. They need to engage with front desk teams, food and beverage, recreation, housekeeping, security, marketing, and other operational areas.

Many opportunities for transformation emerge from conversations with people who perform a process every day and ask:

“We have always done it this way, but is there a better way?”

That is where technology moves beyond support and becomes a bridge between operational challenges and new possibilities.

Transformation Requires Governance and People

The more we use data to improve decisions and personalize experiences, the greater our responsibility becomes.

Digital transformation also requires governance. Organizations need to understand who should access information, why that access is necessary, how data is protected, and what purpose justifies its use.

At the same time, no process is truly transformed unless people understand its purpose.

Technology can automate steps, organize information, and accelerate decisions. But people provide context. They turn information into judgment and judgment into experience.

The most valuable technology initiatives are often not the most sophisticated, but those that connect technology, data, and people to solve a real problem.

The New Role of Technology Leadership

This transformation is redefining the role of technology leaders.

Our responsibilities still include availability, cybersecurity, infrastructure, governance, and operational efficiency. But another dimension is equally important: understanding the business.

Technology leaders need to move from discussions about architecture and security to conversations about customer experience, operational efficiency, risk, culture, and strategy.

The objective is no longer simply to implement technology. It is to create value through it.

I believe the future of technology leadership will increasingly be measured not by how many systems we implement, but by how effectively we connect technology, data, and people to create better decisions and better experiences.