IT innovation gap widens

The chasm between high-performing IT departments and their counterparts globally is widening when it comes to innovation, according to the latest research from global consultancy Accenture.

The difference between high performers and their peers has grown from 31 per cent in 2008 to 42 per cent today, with the former running IT like a business as well as for the business.

"Our survey found that CIOs at high-performance IT organisations are deeply involved in business outcomes and closely attuned to current and future business needs across the enterprise," said Gary Curtis, Accenture's chief technology strategist.

"They are successfully retiring their legacy systems and embracing newer technologies. They are adept at managing the balance between optimising costs and ensuring that they have the budget, skills and resources to help fuel business growth."

CIOs in the UK appear to be slightly ahead of the curve when it comes to cloud computing, with 55 per cent saying they have deployed or are piloting software-as-a-service compared to 31 per cent of all other IT organisations. However, the survey sample size was small so may not be fully representative of the majority.

A further 27 per cent of UK IT firms are deploying or piloting infrastructure-as-a-service, compared to just 16 per cent of all other IT organisations globally, and 82 per cent said they will be early adopters of emerging technologies.