Only 10% of CIOs consider themselves as Game Changer: Report

A new report named as "The CIO of the Future: Becoming a Business Game-Changer", from Emerson Network Power has reported that nearly half of CIOs consider themselves IT service providers or cost centres, rather than business game changers or strategic innovators. The report has also emphasized the importance of budgeting for innovation as one way to embrace a more strategic role in any organization.
 
Steve Hassell, President of Emerson Network Power's Avocent Business, said, "As a former CIO, I understand both the demands of the job and the critical role the CIO can play in supporting and shaping business strategy. It can be difficult to get off the hamster wheel of day-to-day operations, but trends such as social media, mobility and data-driven decision-making are only going to increase the importance of IT in attracting and serving customers. Emerson is rapidly addressing some of these challenges by introducing solutions that reduce complexity and improve management of resources. This is the key to making the transition from service provider to business leader a seamless effort."

This Emerson report includes responses from 560 CIOs and top IT executives of companies with 500 or more employees in the United States, Latin America, Europe and Asia. The key highlights from the report shows that only 10 per cent of CIOs see themselves as a driver of their business’ competitive future; with another 15 per cent categorizing themselves as a business peer and 26 per cent seeing themselves as influential collaborators. CIOs from Asia (79 per cent) and Latin America (78 per cent) lead the pack in expecting significant change in their role in the next five years.