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Pressure to impact revenue puts CIOs under immense strain, study finds

A global survey reveals that although CIOs are becoming more strategic and accountable, they are under pressure with reduced budgets and higher security risks.

London, 15 Jan 2019
  • 61% of CIOs say time spent on strategic planning increased in last 12 months
  • 43% of CIOs are measured on revenue growth
  • 49% state job satisfaction decreased in last 12 months
  • 29% say work/life balance got worse 

The role of the CIO is evolving with more of a focus on revenue and strategy, according to the 2019 Global CIO Survey from Logicalis, a global provider of IT solutions. The study, which questioned 888 CIOs from around the world, found that 61% of CIOs have spent more time on strategic planning in the last 12 months, while 43% are now being measured on their contribution to revenue growth.

The survey reveals that although CIOs are becoming more strategic and accountable, they are under pressure with reduced budgets and higher security risks. Almost half of respondents (48%) say that their time spent on security defences has increased in the last year, with CIOs spending 25% of their time on information and security compliance. The maintenance of technology remains a key aspect of the CIO’s role, with CIO’s, on average, spending one-third (33%) of their time focused on day-to-day management of technology.

The increased strain is having a negative impact on CIOs’ enjoyment of their job. Almost half of CIOs (49%) believe their job satisfaction has decreased in the last 12 months, while 29% say their work/life balance has worsened. The expanded focus on strategy and revenue has had an impact on the amount of time CIOs are able to spend on innovation, with 30% saying it has decreased in the last 12 months.

Mark Rogers, CEO at Logicalis, said: “It is clear from these survey results that the role of the CIO has changed and is continuing to evolve. Digital transformation has impacted almost every industry, which has led to the role of the CIO increasing in importance. CIOs are now expected to be responsible for business performance at a strategic level, which has added to the time that they are expected to spend on maintaining IT infrastructure.

“This increase in strategic responsibility should be embraced by businesses and CIOs alike because technology does hold the key to unlocking competitive advantage and operational efficiency. However, these survey results are stark in their findings and show the increased amount of pressure being exerted on CIOs. Organisations must ensure their CIO is fully supported and has the necessary resources to carry out their job effectively. 

“Businesses are pushing their CIOs to understand more about the line of business and input on strategy, while CIOs are still under pressure carrying out day-to-day activities. Clearly, this needs to be addressed.” 

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Logicalis South Africa

Logicalis SA (Pty) Limited is the South African subsidiary of the Logicalis Group. At Logicalis we pride ourselves in our ability to advise customers on their IT strategy, implement the most appropriate technology from a wide range of leading vendors and manage their technology infrastructures on their behalf. At every stage we make our customers’ businesses sharper by removing cost, complexity and barriers to change across their IT infrastructures.

We serve our customers’ global requirements through our extensive partner network. Formed in 2017 Logicalis SA today has over 140 employees. We currently supply services to 40+ offshore international customers, supporting and maintaining cloud solutions, servers, storage, IPT and network devices.

Our range of end-to-end technology-based solutions embracing infrastructure, service management and applications services represents our ‘core’ business. We tailored these solutions to customer demands to include end user management, infrastructure and networks (data and voice) support, database managed services, applications management and service desk services. Our solutions and services are delivered through either on-site support teams or remotely, using a well-defined and proven set of ITIL service management practices and methodologies.

Editorial contacts

Michele Cox
Marketing Executive
(+27) 21 935 6600