8x8 employs a growing global team of IT and application professionals to support business operations. That team has a new leader. Meet Colin Carmichael, 8x8 senior vice president and chief information officer, reporting to Dejan Deklich, our chief products officer. He joins 8x8 following a similar role at FireEye and senior management positions at several global enterprises including Polycom, Amazon, and Sun Microsystems.

Although already at work on ideas and opportunities to leverage IT to keep serving customers well amid a lot of change, Colin was gracious enough to answer a few questions about himself and his insights.

How would you describe yourself and your new 8x8 role?

I am a seasoned CIO who has been around the block in the legacy data center and SaaS worlds, plus everything in between. Along the way, I have accumulated extensive cybersecurity experience on top of the executive leadership skills required to meet the fast-paced demands of today’s software and services companies.

Outside of work, I spend as much time as I can with my family. If there is any time left, I golf.

My job is to lead the team that ensures 8x8 operates its business efficiently via its IT systems and applications. Business models and enterprise technologies are evolving rapidly. So, like our customers, we need a cohesive platform that integrates the tools we use to keep our internal customers productive.

What is your philosophy about achieving success?

Taking pride in ownership often separates the good from the great. People should take pride in the things near and dear to them in their personal and professional lives. That has been my approach in this business for the past 30-plus years, and it has helped achieve team goals.

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What is hot on the minds of CIOs right now?

Many CIOs are a little surprised, I think, about how well their companies are adapting to hybrid work environments. Can you imagine if the pandemic happened 10 years ago? Today, the technology has matured enough to the point that establishing hybrid work policies feels just as hard as the cloud technologies. Standardizing policies for distributed workforces is very complex though technology advances are making it more simple all the time.

Homes are now satellite offices, sometimes with children and pets running around. It is different. As a result, supporting hybrid work environments requires a tripod partnership comprising the IT, HR, and facilities departments because there are all kinds of dynamics associated with returning to work, collaboration, etc. CIOs want technology to enable employees to do their best work, but the answer is not the same for everyone in every location. So working with HR and facilities is very important right now.

What are some of your hybrid work security concerns?

The single most significant risk factor in security is still the human being. In the hybrid work era, the threat radius is infinite. This is why it is so necessary to educate employees about reducing security risks like phishing continually.

Additionally, it is a critically important skill for IT and applications professionals today to personalize apps and infrastructure for their environment. Big-name apps and public cloud providers generally have many security capabilities built-in, but those features may not be perfectly tuned to your security needs. I do not think IT leaders are paying enough attention to how their apps should be customized for their security environment. Hybrid work models will force this to change.

What are your thoughts about XCaaS?

I loved XCaaS from when I first heard about it. In previous jobs, I have been responsible for managing collaboration, which gives me perspective on what our customers are facing. XCaaS allows total collaboration across every part of the business and eases communications throughout.

So I think XCaaS offers significant value with its tight integrations with Salesforce, Microsoft Teams, etc. XCaaS makes workflows simple, removing lots of constraints, which relieves a lot of headaches.

Final thoughts

Carmichael recognizes that his team impacts 8x8 customers’ experience. He says that “we run X Series just like our customers. I want to be a reference to share learnings with them, and I will be looking for ways to add value.”

Welcome Colin Carmichael to 8x8!