Dive Brief:

• The rate of change in technology is accelerating and CIOs are tasked with helping businesses keep pace. As a technology outfit within a company, CIOs have to evaluate which features and capabilities help adapt to the "needs of a changing landscape," said Harry Moseley, CIO at enterprise video communications company Zoom.

• Moseley joined Zoom in March, and has had a career which saw the evolution of modern computing, including the rise of cloud-based services. The cloud has allowed CIOs to focus on other objectives in an organization, without having to obsess on keeping the lights running. It's similar to energy consumption, Moseley said. Companies don't have to actively think about how a building consumes energy; It just works. "When it comes to cloud tech, it's similar."

• The cloud has made it so companies can better evaluate new technologies and adopt best-of-breed solutions. "The modern CIO really is one who is listening to their organization, listening to their professionals, listening to their needs, observing what other companies are doing, [and] spending time with the disruptive technologies and new entrants in the technology space," Moseley said.

Dive Insight:

Moseley previously served as CIO of KPMG, Blackstone, Credit Suisse and UBS. He began his career as a programmer and helped develop real-time banking systems. Over the course of his career, he added a variety of technology expertise, including infrastructure and networks. Moseley's experience speaks to the "multifaceted" demands of a CIO.

Experience across the technology stack is not mandatory for CIOs, but it can help leaders understand the intricacies and demands technology has on a business. The in-depth experience, in turn, helps CIOs better serve internal- and external-facing clients.

Zoom is a technology service provider, so part of Moseley's client purview is potential customers looking to adopt services. But nearly every CIO is dealing with external customers, whether working in manufacturing or healthcare or any other sector.

The rise of digital technologies has ensured companies need to have a powerful enough technology stack to support external outreach. Supporting external customer demands has become a reality of the new era of CIOs.

"I ultimately believe at the end of the day that a CIO is really the CEO of a technology company," Moseley said.