Survey: CIOs see IT moving from cost center to trust center, even as challenges abound

 

CHICAGO - Chief Information Officers (CIOs) increasingly see IT moving from a ‘cost center’ to a ‘trust center’ – even as the challenges they face abound, according to the 2019 CIO Survey from Grant Thornton LLP in partnership with the Technology Business Management (TBM) Council.

CIOs who participated in the survey reported that “creating and driving an IT strategy that aligns with overall business/agency objectives” is one of their top priorities – second only to “ensuring that IT systems comply with security and regulatory requirements.”

This focus on strategy is also evident in how CIOs see the institutional role of their IT teams. Of those surveyed:

  • Eighty-one percent believe “IT drives innovation or modernization programs.”
  • Seventy-nine percent think “IT has a voice in business/agency strategy and strategic initiatives.”
  • Sixty-six percent of CIOs say their performance should be measured based on “successful execution against strategy and plans.”

“The days of the CIO serving strictly as an IT operator are over,” said LaVerne H. Council, national managing principal for Enterprise Technology Strategy and Innovation at Grant Thornton. “CIOs see themselves as trusted business partners, but the road ahead is not an easy one. CIOs should articulate the value of IT spend in the same terms measured by their business partners.”

Demonstrating value will only grow harder in the face of the challenges that CIOs identified in the survey. Chief among these is “conflicting priorities among stakeholders” – followed by “recruiting and retaining talent,” “aligning IT with business goals,” “articulating the value of IT spend,” and “stakeholders’ resistance to change.”
 

 

 

The road to becoming a trusted business partner


The clearest path forward for CIOs to become trusted business partners is to demonstrate that they can control costs and communicate IT value in a way that resonates with the business. Through technology business management (TBM), for example, leaders can help their C-suite peers understand how IT brings value to their organization.

“With TBM, CIOs and their teams use a data-driven financial framework to evaluate investment decisions using a common language that aligns IT spend to business value,” said Todd Tucker, vice president and general manager of the TBM Council. “With this information, organizations can enable prioritization, optimize business costs and accelerate decision-making. In fact, 74 percent of survey respondents identified ‘the ability to shift spending to innovation or growth as the most important benefit of TBM.’”
 

 

 

Shifting priorities


Finally, CIOs are shifting their priorities to meet emerging needs and address critical gaps, most notably:

  • Eighty-five percent are investing in automation software deployments over the next two years.
  • Eighty-three percent have increased spending on cybersecurity.
  • Only 30 percent are currently using data to “move from information to insight.”
  • They believe the top barriers to addressing cybersecurity threats are “the increasing sophistication of threats,” “emerging technologies,” and “retaining top-tier talent.”
  • They think artificial intelligence will be the most impactful area of IT over the next three to five years.

Grant Thornton and the TBM Council conducted the survey in fall 2018, based on responses from IT leaders in both commercial businesses and the public sector.

For additional findings from the 2019 CIO Survey, visit https://www.grantthornton.com/ciosurvey.

 

About Technology Business Management (TBM) Council
 

The TBM Council is a nonprofit organization established by Apptio, and made up of 8,500 leading technology and finance executives from around the world. The Council is governed by an independent board of business technology leaders from a diverse group of the world’s most innovative companies like Aflac, State Farm, Tyson, Intuit, First American and more. The Council is focused on developing a definitive framework for managing the business of IT by establishing standards and providing ongoing collaboration and education opportunities. For more information, please visit http://www.tbmcouncil.org

 

 

About Grant Thornton

Grant Thornton” is the brand for two professional-services entities: Grant Thornton LLP, a licensed, certified public accounting (CPA) firm that provides audit and assurance services ― and Grant Thornton Advisors LLC (not a licensed CPA firm), which exclusively provides non-attest offerings, including tax and advisory services. With revenues of $2.4 billion for the fiscal year that ended July 31, 2023, and dozens of offices nationwide, Grant Thornton represents a community of almost 10,000 problem solvers, relationship builders, and industry specialists who know that how we serve matters as much as what we do.

 

Grant Thornton LLP, Grant Thornton Advisors LLC and their respective subsidiaries operate as an alternative practice structure (APS). The APS conforms with applicable laws, regulations and professional standards, including those from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

 

Grant Thornton LLP and Grant Thornton Advisors LLC serve as the U.S. member firms of the Grant Thornton International Ltd (GTIL) network. GTIL and its member firms are not a worldwide partnership and all member firms are separate legal entities. Member firms deliver all services; GTIL does not provide services to clients.

 

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