A recent SIM International study finds that fewer CIOs are reporting directly to the CEO. Instead, they're answering to less strategic executives, such as the chief operating officer or chief financial officer.
Baby boomer CIOs are retiring and being replaced by less business-savvy (and less expensive) successors. Regulatory concerns are eating up the bulk of IT's time and budget, while increased outsourcing and automation are changing the way business views IT overall. And not always in a good way.
Taken together, these trends don't seem to bode well for today's CIOs and their influence on the business side of the house. But what's the reality? When CEOs and company presidents and boards of directors think of their CIO, do they think innovation? Do they think competitive advantage? Or do they think of someone who just keeps the IT lights on?
While findings like SIM's are troubling, many experts say today's CIOs are actually gaining influence.
"I'm not concerned -- well, not overly concerned," says Jerry Lofton, vice president of academic affairs at SIM International and a co-author of the study. "If we saw the trend continuing, perhaps that would be an indicator. But other findings such as the fact that IT resources, as well as IT funding, are on the rise are very positive in comparison to looking at where the CIO reports."
In fact, IT spending overall is on a growth spurt, with North American IT expenditures increasing 5 per cent in 2007, compared with a 4.1 per cent increase in 2006, and a 2.5 per cent increase in 2005, according to Computer Economics' latest IT spending and staffing survey.
And other data seems to run counter to the SIM study. "We see exactly the opposite," says Harvey Koeppel, executive director of the Center for CIO Leadership in New York. "CIOs really are finding their way to a seat and voice at the table and being fairly heavily involved in setting strategic direction and becoming business partners with the rest of the C-level suite."
In fact, in research conducted by IBM and the Center last June, 80 per cent of the 175 CIOs polled felt they were valuable members of the executive leadership team, with 69 per cent indicating significant involvement in strategic decision making.
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Blog: Second Acts: Why CEOs Get Them And CIOs Don't 18 January, 2008 12:36:09
Last week's news about Howard Schultz's return to the helm of Starbucks as CEO got me thinking about second acts. They're fairly common for CEOs. A year ago, Michael Dell was called back to the executive suite to revitalize the computer maker's growth. And Charles Schwab was reinstalled as CEO in July 2004, after having stepped down from that same role just 14 months earlier, in May 2003. - +
C-Level Execs Miss The Business Model Innovation Boat 28 November, 2007 08:25:35
CEOs, SVPs and CIOs talk a good game about wanting innovation. But I think it's all talk, not much action. - +
Blog: More on Organizational Realignments and How They Affect CIOs 03 June, 2008 14:29:24
IT leaders are well-positioned to benefit from and facilitate organizational changes inside their companies, according to one executive recruiter.
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Influencing the market 04 February, 2008 10:18:57
Upheavals in the marketplace are forcing everyone to re-examine what it will take to build a vibrant ICT industry in AustraliaWhat a week! Investors are bailing out of technology stocks and several companies are seeing the need for new leadership. Things change quickly in this industry. - +
Consultancy points to its own research to justify IT outsourcing 12 December, 2007 09:01:02
IT rejects high project failure ratesBusiness executives and board members accept failed IT projects as "the norm" labelling them a "necessary evil" according to new research released yesterday by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). - +
Users rein in IT budget increases 26 November, 2007 08:14:06
Large organisations lead the way in belt tighteningLarge organisations are pulling in the reins on IT spending growth, according to a Computer Economics survey of 125 IT decision-makers in the US and Canada. Although 66 per cent of respondents expected budget increases next year, the size of those increases -- only 2.5 per cent at the median -- were relatively conservative when compared to the rising growth rates over the past three years. - +
Peoplebank funds approved for Ambit acquisition 04 February, 2008 17:08:17
Staff numbers increase from 100 to 270Peoplebank Australia shareholders today approved $100 million in funds to complete its acquisition of Ambit in a bid to make it the number one IT&T recruitment firm in Australia. - +
NAB carves up Telstra contract in favour of IBM 21 December, 2007 14:41:21
Deal estimated to be worth more than $300 millionThe National Australia Bank (NAB) today confirmed it has inked a three year outsourcing deal with IBM Australia to manage more than 30,000 desktops.
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CIO Live Podcast #79: Brent D Taylor, author of The Outsider's Edge: The Making of Self-Made Billionaires Part II 05 October, 2007 06:00:00
For his new book, The Outsider's Edge: The Making of Self-Made Billionaires, social researcher Brent D Taylor spent four years of intensive research investigating the psychological make-up and backgrounds of some of the world's richest men and women, including IT luminaries Bill Gates, Larry Ellison and Steve Jobs. Taylor discovered that, despite working in different industries and coming from different upbringings, they all have one thing in common -- they are all outsiders. - +
CIO Live Podcast #78: Brent D Taylor, author of The Outsider's Edge: The Making of Self-Made Billionaires 28 September, 2007 17:34:25
For his new book, The Outsider's Edge: The Making of Self-Made Billionaires, social researcher Brent D Taylor spent four years of intensive research investigating the psychological make-up and backgrounds of some of the world's richest men and women, including IT luminaries Bill Gates, Larry Ellison and Steve Jobs. Taylor discovered that, despite working in different industries and coming from different upbringings, they all have one thing in common -- they are all outsiders. - +
CIO Live Podcast #77: Panasonic Speeds Up Trans-Pacific File Transfers, Part III 21 September, 2007 07:00:00
Part three in our three-part special report from CIO's sister publication Network World in the US, as Paul Desmond reports from the Network World IT Roadmap Conference in Santa Clara, California. With development teams in the US and Japan, Panasonic needed a more efficient way to move very large files between the two locations. Iben Rodriguez, IT consultant for Panasonic Research and Development, explains how a storage-area network and virtual server technology helped speed up WAN performance. - +
CIO Live Podcast #76: Panasonic Speeds Up Trans-Pacific File Transfers, Part II 14 September, 2007 07:00:00
Part two in our three-part special report from CIO's sister publication Network World in the US, as Paul Desmond reports from the Network World IT Roadmap Conference in Santa Clara, California. With development teams in the US and Japan, Panasonic needed a more efficient way to move very large files between the two locations. Iben Rodriguez, IT consultant for Panasonic Research and Development, explains how a storage-area network and virtual server technology helped speed up WAN performance. - +
CIO Live Podcast #75: Panasonic Speeds Up Trans-Pacific File Transfers, Part I 07 September, 2007 07:00:05
Part one in our three-part special report from CIO's sister publication Network World in the US, as Paul Desmond reports from the Network World IT Roadmap Conference in Santa Clara, California. With development teams in the US and Japan, Panasonic needed a more efficient way to move very large files between the two locations. Iben Rodriguez, IT consultant for Panasonic Research and Development, explains how a storage-area network and virtual server technology helped speed up WAN performance.
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Chris Hoff on Virtualization and Cloud Computing 20 November, 2008 10:55:00
Chris Hoff, chief security architect for the systems and technology division at Unisys and an advisor on the Skybox Security customer advisory board, is one of the biggest critics of virtualization security out there. Not because it isn't important - but rather because it is vital and needs to mature rapidly. - +
Cybersecurity is focus of new start-up incubator 20 November, 2008 07:19:00
Texas uni announces the Institute for Cyber Security.The University of Texas at San Antonio Tuesday announced a technology incubator aimed at fostering IT security-based start-ups within the state. - +
Dilip Sarangan on Physical Security M&A 20 November, 2008 11:18:00
Dilip Sarangan tracks physical security companies for Frost & Sullivan. He expects the industry's "need to have" products to weather the economic storm well, with the big players (now including IBM and Cisco) looking for value-priced acquisitions. - +
International Challenges in PCI Security 20 November, 2008 09:15:00
In a country that's seen many regulatory compliance challenges this decade, the headaches of PCI security tend to be analyzed from a largely American perspective. - +
PCI council sharpens oversight of security auditors 19 November, 2008 10:53:00
Quality assurance plan targets security assessors and scanning vendorsThe PCI Security Standards Council Monday unveiled a plan to sharpen oversight of the hundreds of security-service providers now authorized to evaluate merchant networks under the organization's Payment Card Industry data standards.
PGP and Ponemon Institute Unveil Inaugural Australian Data Breach Study 2008 20 November, 2008 17:34:00
Symantec Cloud Services Transform Data Centre Operations Through Proactive Management 20 November, 2008 12:06:00
Verizon Business Offers Tips to Building a Successful Unified Communications and Collaboration Plan 20 November, 2008 12:04:00
AARNet Brings 4K Digital Cinema to Australia: First 4K HD Video Signal delivered into Australia by AARNet 20 November, 2008 12:02:00
NetApp Named 2008 Citrix Ready Solution of the Year by Citrix Systems 20 November, 2008 11:33:00
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