Next Generation CIOs

Next-generation CIOs: change agents for the global virtual workplace is a Cognizant Business Consulting research report, written in cooperation with the Economist Intelligence Unit.  It finds that companies leading the movement toward virtual and collaborative teams — often spurred by the CIO — are garnering results, particularly with respect to innovation, talent recruitment and retention, and productivity. Key findings of this research study are:

• Some companies are changing their operations to support new structures based on virtual teams that do not rely on traditional hierarchies and communication channels.
• Organizations that have embraced virtual teams garner benefits such as increased innovation and competitiveness, but lack appropriate valuation methods to measure the quantitative impact of these structures on the bottom line.
• CIOs are in a unique position to influence the adoption and effectiveness of virtual teams. CIOs are familiar with the people, tools, technologies and techniques needed to create a corporate culture of virtual teams.