Machine learning and artificial intelligence have jumped out of science fiction and into the everyday operations of information technology so fast that even digital-first, cloud-first companies are having to run to keep pace.

“As organizations are moving forward, automation, scale and machine learning are going to be increasingly important aspects of a business. How fast can you move? How much scale do you have? How smart is your business? What are your experiences with your customer? And how are you leveraging all the analytics that those experiences create?” said Chris Bedi (pictured), chief information officer at ServiceNow Inc.

Bedi spoke with Peter Burris (@plburris), host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile livestreaming studio, at theCUBE’s studio in Palo Alto, California. The discussion covered fast and flexible digital transformation, leveraging data as an asset, and the role of the chief information officer.

Judging, altering automations on the fly

ServiceNow is growing so fast that its information technology team doesn’t have the luxury of exhaustive testing before activating processes. “We just can’t simply afford to sit back and wait for the perfect solution,” Bedi said. “… It’s better to take a risk, move fast, and learn as we automate.”

Heavy process mining, the analysis of business processes based on event logs, allows Bedi’s IT team to judge the effectiveness of active automations and make recommendations for increasing efficiency.

Making sure the company’s core infrastructure works is still primary to the CIO role, just as it has been for the past 20 years, according to Bedi. In addition, CIO’s now have to take responsibility for business outcomes, partnering with others to identify and achieve strategic objectives.

What about creating the role of chief digital officer to help out? In Bedi’s opinion, it is unnecessary: “I think the right CIOs need to step up and lead the transformation,” he said.

Bedi embraces the responsibilities and challenges of leading the way into a data-driven world. “I think now, more than ever, it’s an incredibly fun time to be a CIO,” he concluded.

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s CUBE Conversations.

Photo: SiliconANGLE