Has the CIO role evolved from a digital transformer to the builder of virtual organizations? Read On!
The role of the CIO has been redefined in the aftermath of COVID-19. They are no longer just responsible for technology and digital transformations, but also for leading and orchestrating the entire business transformation. In this new world, businesses need to go digital as much as possible, depending on the readiness of their technology foundation, processes, and culture. The CIO is now a key player in enabling a productive workforce and continuing to engage customers during these difficult times.
CIOs have been busy putting in place remote working setups and access to information as well as mission-critical systems. However, this is just the beginning; business and IT leadership need to start planning as the uncertainties increase even further. In order to be successful in this next phase, CIOs will need to make fast decisions and have a robust technology foundation.
As technology becomes more and more important to companies, the CIO role is also changing. CIOs now see their role as critical to the company's success and believe that technology is of paramount importance. However, they also caution that it is important to get the right technology. The role of the CIO is expanding beyond its traditional technology responsibilities, according to almost all who responded to a recent survey. While it's not surprising that the role of the CIO has been growing in breadth, this expansion seems to be continuing and entering new business areas. This could mean that the CIO is becoming an even more important part of the executive team for companies of all sizes.
Businesses are starting to see the value in having a strategic leader with a technology mindset. The CIO is now seen as an advisor who can help improve business outcomes. Additionally, the CIO is being relied on more to solve problems that go beyond traditional IT boundaries and include business unit performance, new business ideas, and challenging the status quo. This presents a challenge, but CIOs seem to be confident in their ability to make major tech investments based on their own vision.
Technology has become an integral part of company operations, to the point where a CIO is now seen as a strategic leader rather than only a collaborative partner. Many business initiatives nowadays cannot be successful without technology at the forefront of discussion and decision-making. In addition to this fundamental role, CIOs are expected to drive business transformation by digitizing internal processes and developing innovative digital business initiatives. These are essential for companies looking to maintain a competitive edge in the coming years.
Most CEOs and C-suite executives no longer see IT as a cost center, but as an enabler of business strategy. However, some organizations go beyond this and view IT as an integral part of delivering value and revenue to the enterprise. These organizations have future fit IT departments in which the CIO shares accountability for business performance.
As companies continue to aggressively leverage technology and transform their businesses, the CIO will be responsible for helping plan the future success of their organizations. They can be advocates for change and help advance corporate transformation and be the drivers for innovation within the organization.
This report summarizes a survey of C-Suite Executives, including CIOs and CTOs, on the factors driving the evolution of the CIO role, their effect on the CIO role, and best practices and critical success factors for the CIO role.
To dive deeper into the ways technology leaders are delivering business value, it also assessed respondents on three (3) measures of Information technology performance:
- Maturity
- Effectiveness
- Return on Investment (ROI)
The report also compares these factors across categories and tried to understand the extent to which they influenced each other. In addition, it analyzed how the six (6) value drivers—purpose, people, partnerships, process, innovation, technology—influence the three (3) technology performance measures.
The report defines three (3) core CIO identities, characterized as distinct CIO leadership mandates. CIOs can learn the expectations from their role and how best to fulfill them. MUST Read!
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