Chief information officers (CIOs) will come under increasing pressure to perform in 2006 while they transform their IT organisations to become more externally focused, according to industry experts.
A worldwide survey of 1,400 CIOs by Gartner Executive Programmes found that executives now expect IT to play a "significant role in business growth and competitiveness", a shift that is expected accelerate this year.
The survey found that worldwide IT budgets are expected to increase by an average of 2.7 per cent in 2006. This compares to an increase of 2.5 per cent in 2005 and represents a modest budget increase for the third consecutive year.
Growth is on the CIO agenda as IT budgets at companies planning to grow faster than the market are increasing by an average of 4.8 per cent.
"The survey results make it very clear that business expectations of IT have changed dramatically, and executives are expecting their CIOs to move beyond concerns about cost, security and quality to help grow the business," said Marcus Blosch, vice president and research director at Gartner Executive Programmes. "Last year saw the beginning of a transformation that is intensifying in 2006."
As a result, the analyst firm found that business process improvement, essentially making a company easier to do business with, is the top business priority for CIOs for the second consecutive year.
In addition, 2006 will see CIOs become more externally focused, helping the business to grow customer relationships, improve competitiveness and increase overall efficiency.
While Gartner noted that CIOs are playing an increasingly business-focused role, the responsibility for running effective technology operations remains.
Commenting on the fact that business concerns over security breaches and
disruptions fell from the second to the seventh ranked priority, Blosch said: "
This does not mean that security is no longer an issue. Rather, it indicates
that in 2006 the business expects IT to be secure and is looking to the CIO to
keep it that way."
Overall, the survey found that IT spending on security related tools remains
healthy at a projected average increase of 4.5 per cent in 2006.
Business leaders expect CIOs to run an effective technology operation. "With that in place, executives are looking for ways in which IT can make the company more prominent in a competitive market," said Mark McDonald, group vice president and head of research at Gartner Executive Programmes.
"CIOs are looking to help the business stand out with strategic and innovative use of information, business processes and intelligence in products and services. They are looking to use technology tools, rather than buying package solutions, to support competitive difference."
Gartner Executive Programmes surveyed CIOs in more than 30 countries, representing more than $90bn in IT spending.