DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

Percentage of hackathon AI projects that progressed to production deployment

“ We’ re using AI in terms of understanding customers’ requirements, mapping our portfolio to them, and generating the draft of a bid,” John notes.“ We’ re using it in terms of how we use inventory management in our warehouses. We’ re using it in terms of finance and understanding our cost base.”

To accelerate innovation, Computacenter conducts global AI hackathons. A recent competition yielded 10 projects, half of which have progressed to production deployment, demonstrating commitment to practical implementation.

John emphasises that this advancement must occur responsibly. Computacenter has established an AI strategy board with representation from human resources, strategy and development, and legal departments to ensure initiatives align with organisational values and regulatory requirements.

“ One of the big challenges of adopting AI is the ethical or responsible AI element,” John observes.

“ We’ re working with our union representatives and workers councils to make sure they’ re comfortable with our AI strategy, because everything we want to do, we want to do it in the right way for our shareholders, the employees, and of course, our customers.”

Future CIO role requires diverse skills beyond technology management John envisions further evolution of the CIO role, potentially expanding into broader operational and strategic leadership positions. As AI and automation increasingly handle operational tasks, technology leadership will focus more on orchestrating technological capabilities than managing human resources.

110 June 2025