business processes. Making sure the ... changing to 'what IT can do to grow the business', ... Reputation management via
1. GLOBAL RESULTS
CIO operational priorities
Over the last few years, priorities across the industry have been fairly consistent. CIOs are worried about operational efficiencies and the need to improve business processes. Making sure the trains 'run on time' remains a key priority, with consistent IT service and delivery performance being at the top of many CIOs’ lists. Saving costs experienced the biggest drop in priority, falling from number one in 2013 to number four today. Delivering consistent and stable IT had the next biggest drop with one in ten fewer CIOs seeing this as a priority. The fact that almost two-thirds of respondents (63 per cent) say that projects which can make money are a
priority this year, combined with a slight increase in CIOs wanting better engagement with customers, suggests that the wider operational focus may be changing to ‘what IT can do to grow the business’, rather than the most recent theme of cost reduction. However, there is not a universal shift away from operational IT duties towards customer-facing, growth-orientated initiatives. Developing innovative new products and services and enabling mobile commerce are both down as CIO priorities compared to 2013. The continued influence of the marketing function in the use of digital and disruptive technologies may be one reason why the role of the CIO has declined in these areas despite their growing importance to organisational growth.
