FEATURE: STATE OF THE CIO
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As CIOs constantly strive
to find the best business
approach that works for
them, new research from
ServiceNow has revealed
that top-performing
CIOs are focusing more
on business leadership
rather than technology
operations. The report
findings allow us to
consider the current
state of the CIO
across the business
technology landscape.
T
op-performing CIOs are focusing
more on business leadership
and the goals of the customers,
employees and other business
functions, rather than technology operations,
according to new research from ServiceNow.
The global survey of 516 CIOs, conducted
by Oxford Economics, examined the most
important capabilities for the modern
CIO. For many years, CIOs were focused
primarily on IT. The survey shows that
nearly two-thirds (63%) of CIOs believe
business and leadership skills are more
important than technology acumen – and,
critically, the most successful CIOs are those
who have positioned themselves firmly as
business visionaries.
The three things that separate around
one-fifth of CIOs that consider themselves
effective from the rest are:
• They are further along at
digitising workflows
• They build C-suite influence
• They focus externally on customers
The highest-performing CIOs focus on
strategy versus operations and aligning the
goals of IT with the goals of the business.
These CIOs also report higher levels of
productivity, innovation and customer
satisfaction in their organisation and have
the strongest relationships with other
business leaders, in particular the CEO and
Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO).
There is a consensus among most CIOs that
establishing partnerships and cross-team
projects at C-level is a critical part of their role:
• 64% of CIOs agree that their role is to
educate other members of the C-suite on
digital technologies
• 69% say collaborating with the CEO on
setting organisational roadmaps is key to
their role
• 77% of CIOs say their core
responsibilities include collaborating with
the CHRO on talent strategies
From a technology perspective, the most
successful CIOs are those who are building
consensus and action around automating
and integrating work processes and
introducing digital workflows to drive
outcomes. They recognise the importance
of digital workflows in increasing efficiency
(80%), financial performance (78%),
productivity (78%), employee performance
(76%) and innovation (75%).
“As technology becomes critical to business
success, expectations of the CIO have
grown exponentially,” said Chris Bedi, CIO,
ServiceNow. “In the past, the CIO was an
New research reveals
key capabilities of
high performing CIOs
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