Chief Information Officer (CIO) Interview

This article features an interview with Martin Hofmann, the Chief Information Officer (CIO) of Volkswagen Group, discussing the company's use of internet technology and plans for quantum computing. The interview highlights the company's labs and their focus on software development, as well as the potential of quantum computing in areas such as smart mobility.

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Chief Information Officer (CIO) Interview
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Chief Information Officer (CIO) Interview: Martin Hofmann, Volkswagen Group
Introduction
Volkswagen group also is known as Volkswagen AG is a multinational automotive
company of manufacturing vehicles. The company was founded in the year 1937 as a car
manufacturing company (Akpinar and Vincze,, 2016, p. 55). The company is located in
Germany. It designs and manufactures commercial and passenger vehicles, engines,
motorcycles, and turbo machinery. Volkswagen group also offers services such as fleet
management, leasing as well as financing. The company is divided into two primary divisions
namely, the financial service division and the automotive division. In addition, it was rated as the
best automakers in sales in the year 2006 when it overtook the Toyota Company.
Nevertheless, the Volkswagen company maintained the title of being the best automakers
in sales in the year 2007 and 2008. The company has also maintained the largest market share in
Europe for more than two decades. The organization was also ranked seventh in the year 2018 at
the fortune global 500 lists of the world’s greatest company (Juergens and Brumlop, 2017p.90).
This paper will analyze the interview that was carried out on Volkswagen group’s Chief
Information Officer (CIO).
Themes from the CIO Interview
From the interview, the main theme that is seen relates to internet technology. The Chief
Information Officer (CIO) of the company, Mr. Martin Hofmann, said that the internet
technology experts in his company labs apply the Silicon Valley mode of work (Chmid, 2013,
p.110). The Chief Information Officer (CIO) said that his group uses the agile work style as well
as the intensive cooperation with the universities. In the company’s labs, the internet technology

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experts along with the technological partners of the company are working on the agile work style
but applying a strategic partnership with the software developer pivotal. The new ecosystem
which the company is working upon is supposed to bring about the new experience to the
company customers. The digital lab of the company is allocated in Berlin where the
organization's internet technology group is working on software development (Chopra, 2015,
p.157). The digital lab is also developing an external platform where the company’s external
partners can berth and join in the software development solutions. The lab is working on
different software developed programs that are bound to help in the development of the
company. The company’s lab is very useful to the company since it a room for innovation which
may tend to be better than the ones existing in the company.
Other than the company’s labs, Volkswagen group is also working on is the plan on how
to use the quantum computers to bolster the company’s digital program that is competitive with
an offer of the creation of an innovative application that is not capable of being programmed
traditionally (Ewing, 2018, p.199). The initiative of collaboration between the specialists of the
quantum known as the D-Wave and the Volkswagen labs which are in Munich and San
Francisco has an aim to build and come up with internet technology specialists at the
Volkswagen company who will tend to identify the uses of the upcoming quantum computing
within the organization (Lerbinger, 2018, p. 106). The technology of quantum computing is
meant to convey a tremendous development to the organization. As a result of the influence
brought about by internet technology, the organization requires a wide range of possibilities that
comes hand in hand with the application. the areas that dealt with autonomous driving, the
processes which support the control the artificial intelligence, intelligent mobility, and machine
learning as well. Mr. Martin Hofmann believes that one of the critical areas where quantum

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computing methods should be applied to smart mobility. The Chief Information Officer (CIO) of
Volkswagen group believes that there should be the ability of a computer calculating the
direction in to which the individual vehicles are driven at and also, to calculate the congestion
which is likely to be caused by the vehicle being driven (Stiller, 2009, p.57). The two internet
technology concepts applied by the Volkswagen group can bring about an optimization that is
much faster when the systems happen to be combined.
The systems with the artificial intelligence are often applied in cases whereby, the system
is bound to recognize the rules and pattern, as well as the deep learning and the machine learning
which are based on the multi-layered neural network, are said to be the best suited to the
prediction as well as the pattern recognition. By merging the two different computing concepts,
there is the exploitation of strengths (David, 2014, p. 58). Therefore, prediction and pattern
recognition, as well as the prediction on the traditional high-performance machines, transmits the
outcomes to the expected quantum computer where, it provides a quick optimization, before the
transfer of results back to the original high-performance machines. The application of the
quantum computing is in a position to bring about the progress that is considered within the
required area, and the power of computing which is available is exceptionally right to resolving
the specific issue such as the optimization issues.
Issues and Problems the CIO Should Adress
Most of the questions which were directed to the Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the
Volkswagen group where IT based. The interviewee needed to ask questions related to some
other field to get to under the reasoning capacity of the CIO. Some of the examples of the
questions which were not mentioned though they needed to have been mentioned are the: at first
if he changes his car oil by himself (Gunnell, 2017, p. 104). The reason behind asking this

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question would be to get to know his ability and skills when it comes to the key industry given
that he is a Chief Information Officer (CIO) in one of the biggest company’s in-vehicle
production worldwide. The second question would be what he would do if he were offered
another job that paid double what he makes at Volkswagen. The reason behind asking such a
difficult question is putting the Chief Information Officer (CIO) in a quite serious situation. Also,
the in interviewee get to judge his honesty as well as the intelligibility of his thoughts as he is
likely to take long before answering such a question. The last question would be if he would opt
to sabotage his colleagues’ career to gain a promotion. The reason behind asking this question
would be to get to know his level of ethnicity, integrity as well as honesty in the profession (Hill,
Brandeau, Truelove & Lineback, 2013, p.72).
Give suggestions for future strategy and direction that you think the CIO should pursue.
The Chief Information Officer (CIO) should pursue and put great emphasize on the
company labs. He should focus on how the company should increase the sizes as well as the
numbers of its labs to different parts of the world (Tirard and Harbour-Lyell, 2017, p.303). The
company will open doors to different ideas all over the world and also create employment. Other
than the creation of employment, there will be a rise in the Volkswagen group business
company. With the labs, there will be a new ecosystem which Volkswagen companies will be
working upon and through which they supposed to bring about the new experience to the
company customers. The company’s digital labs will be located worldwide. Unlike in the present
time whereby, it is located in Berlin where the organization's internet technology group is
working on software development There will also be a greater chance of the digital labs to

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develop an external platform where the company’s external partners can berth and join in the
software development solutions.
The Chief Information Officer (CIO) should also pursue on the organizations will need to
work upon is quantum computing. The Chief Information Officer (CIO) should emphasize on the
organization to move completely to the suggested form of internet technology. The organization
needs to fasten is artificial intelligence team and focus more on emerging the two computing
concepts within the company (Morabito, 2016, p.187). This will include the art of tackling the
areas that deal with autonomous driving, the processes which support the control the artificial
intelligence, intelligent mobility, and machine learning as well. Martin Hofmann believes that
one of the critical areas where quantum computing methods should be applied is smart mobility.
The Chief Information Officer (CIO) of Volkswagen group believes that there should be the
ability of a computer calculating the direction in to which the individual vehicles are driven at
and also, to calculate the congestion which is likely to be caused by the vehicle being driven. The
two internet technology concepts applied by the Volkswagen group can bring about an
optimization that is much faster when the systems happen to be combined (Bodell, &
Dominguez, 2012, p.108). By merging the two different computing concepts, there is the
exploitation of strengths. Therefore, prediction and pattern recognition, as well as the prediction
on the traditional high-performance machines, transmits the outcomes to the expected quantum
computer where, it provides a quick optimization, before the transfer of results back to the
original high-performance machines.
Critical Appraisal of the CIO’s Ideas and Beliefs
The idea on using the quantum computing is seen to be great. The quantum computing
system is meant to bolster the company’s digital program that is modest with an offer of the

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creation of an advanced application that is not gifted of being programmed in a traditional
manner (Ewing, 2018, p.59). The initiative of teamwork between the experts of the quantum
known as the D-Wave and the Volkswagen labs has an aim to build and come up with internet
technology specialists at the Volkswagen company who will tend to identify the uses of the
upcoming quantum computing within the organization
Conclusion
Volkswagen group headed by its Chief Information Officer (CIO) Mr. Martin Hofmann,
is widely known for the designing and manufacturing of vehicles. Other than the company being
rated out as the best, it has made changes to its internet technology sector. The Chief Information
Officer (CIO) during his interview, mentioned that the company has come up with a lab as well
as the need to use the quantum computers in order to bolster the company’s digital program that
is competitive with an offer of the creation of innovative application that is not capable of being
programmed in a traditional manner. Whereby, the company is viewed to be increasing its rate of
growth.

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