A GLOBAL annual survey of Chief Information Officers (CIOs) reveal that 83 percent of those surveyed are concerned about insufficient finances to adequately invest in innovation and digital transformation, and nearly half (48 percent) are “extremely” or “very” concerned.
The second edition of the Lenovo Global Study of CIOs indicates that CIOs prioritize innovation in new technologies over optimizing their existing tech stack. The consequences of freezing investment in innovation are significant, as 60 percent of CIOs believe it would impact their business immediately or within weeks across areas such as business automation, business model transformation, data analytics, and environment, social, and governance initiatives.
Adding to this, 33 percent of CIOs do not feel their organization is sufficiently resilient.
“As the technology landscape becomes more complex, it becomes increasingly challenging for CIOs to implement digital transformation across the organization and prioritize initiatives and investments that yield positive business results,” Michael Ngan, Country General Manager of Lenovo Philippines said as he emphasized that the role of the CIO has become extremely demanding. Read: Lenovo helps solve work trend questions.
As a result, CIOs are turning to “as a Service” (aaS) offerings for their tech stacks. The adoption of aaS solutions simplifies and optimizes IT operations, enabling CIOs to focus on innovation and quickly respond to evolving organizational needs. A pay-as-you-go consumption model, covering procurement, deployment, infrastructure management, hardware, and licensing, empowers CIOs and their teams to concentrate on strategic imperatives and innovation.
The survey reveals that 92 percent of CIOs plan to incorporate new aaS solutions into their tech stacks within the next two years. Currently, 71 percent of CIOs report that between 11 percent and 50 percent of their IT infrastructure is delivered as aaS. CIOs are increasingly relying on software aaS, infrastructure aaS, and device aaS, with over half of them observing a higher usage compared to the previous year.
The study also highlights two essential priorities for IT leaders: the mainstream adoption of artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) as key IT objectives and the significance of people-related opportunities for company success, particularly talent acquisition and retention.
AI/ML has emerged as an urgent priority for CIOs striving to keep pace with rapid technological advancements. A significant 43 percent of CIOs feel an “urgent pressure” to address AI/ML, closely following cybersecurity (51 percent). Furthermore, three out of five IT leaders have experienced pressure to optimize their company’s operations.
Attracting and retaining talent remains a critical challenge for CIOs as they expand their role in digitizing operations across various departments. Managing a remote workforce (59 percent), recruitment and retention (59 percent), overseeing global teams (58 percent), and promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (55 percent) are among the talent-related responsibilities that CIOs face. – with Raymond Tribdino
