E D I T O R ' S Q U E S T I O N
CIOs and IT leaders must take action to accelerate time to value and drive top- and bottom-line enterprise growth from digital investments , according to Gartner ’ s annual global survey of CIOs and technology executives .
“ The pressure on CIOs to deliver digital dividends is higher than ever ,” said Daniel Sanchez-Reina , VP Analyst at Gartner . “ CEOs and boards anticipated that investments in digital assets , channels and digital business capabilities would accelerate growth beyond what was previously possible . Now , business leadership expects to see these digital-driven improvements reflected in enterprise financials .
The 2023 Gartner CIO and Technology Executive Survey gathered data from 2,203 CIO respondents in 81 countries and all major industries , representing approximately US $ 15 trillion in revenue / public-sector budgets and US $ 322 billion in IT spending . The survey analysis revealed four ways in which CIOs can deliver digital dividends and demonstrate the financial impact of technology investments :
Prioritise the right digital initiatives
Survey respondents ranked their executives ’ objectives for digital technology investment over the last two years . The top two objectives were to improve operational excellence ( 53 %) and improve customer or citizen experience ( 45 %). In comparison , only 27 % cited growing revenue as a primary objective and 22 % cited improving cost efficiency .
“ CIOs must prioritise digital initiatives with market-facing , growth impact ,” said Janelle Hill , Distinguished VP Analyst , Gartner .
“ For some CIOs , this means stepping out of their comfort zone of internal back-office automation to instead focus on customer or constituentfacing initiatives .”
The survey revealed that CIOs ’ future technology plans remain focused on optimisation rather than growth . CIOs ’ top areas of increased investment for 2023 include cyber and information security ( 66 %), business intelligence / data analytics ( 55 %) and cloud platforms ( 50 %). However , just 32 % are increasing investment in artificial intelligence ( AI ) and 24 % in hyperautomation .
“ Leading CIOs are more likely to leverage data , analytics and AI to detect emerging consumer behaviour or sentiment that might represent a growth opportunity ,” added Hill .
CIOS MUST PRIORITISE DIGITAL INITIATIVES WITH MARKET-FACING , GROWTH IMPACT .
Create a Metrics Hierarchy
The survey found that 95 % of organisations struggle with developing a vision for digital change , often due to competing expectations from different stakeholders . To drive financial outcomes , CIOs must reconcile siloed initiatives by using a visual metrics hierarchy to communicate and demonstrate interdependencies across related digital initiatives .
“ A key ingredient needed to accelerate delivery of digital benefits is accountability ,” said Hill . “ For example , if the enterprise undertakes a digital initiative to improve customer experience , with the financial goal of improving profit margins , then the CIO ’ s accountable partner is likely the CMO .”
Here , two industry experts discuss this further and look at how CIOs can develop competencies to master and embrace current digital disruption . . . .
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE COMPETENCIES CIOS NEED TO MASTER TO GRASP AND EMBRACE DIGITAL DISRUPTION ?
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