CEOs Place More Faith in IT Leaders
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Promoting IT
98% of CEOs and business owners surveyed said their CIOs adequately articulate IT's role to other departments. -
Delivering ROI
Most CEOs and business owners believe IT is either delivering above expectations (36%) or as expected (51%). And 5% said their IT department is not responsible for delivering ROI. -
Healthy IT Budgets
48% of the survey respondents intend to increase IT's budget in 2015, and 46% said it will stay the same. -
Trusted With the Budget
98% of CEOs and business owners believe their CIOs will make the appropriate technology investments to grow their business. -
Ace Recruiters
80% of them believe their CIO or IT director hires the right IT talent for the business. -
Critical to Business Success
93% of CEOs and business owners believe the IT department will play a critical role in their business in 2015. -
Minimal Bottom-Line Impact
42% of the CEOs attribute the financial success of their company to the customer service or sales staff (42%), credit operations (23%), marketing (15%), finance (5%) and IT (3%). -
A Matter of Trust
37% of the respondents said their spouse's opinions matter most to them, followed by the heads of business development (16%) and operations (13%). Just 1% value IT leaders' opinions most. -
Stunted Growth
Of the 26% of CEOs who plan to increase headcount in 2015, just 8% will increase the IT staff, compared with customer service and sales (51%), operations (43%), marketing (32%) and R&D (15%). -
Outsourcing Plans
15% of CEOs and business owners said they plan to outsource IT, but 34% said they plan to outsource their legal departments.
CEOs and business owners are placing more faith in IT leaders and their contributions, but that faith hasn't yet translated into perceived financial impact or valued-advisor status. These are the findings of a recent survey from global staffing and HR services firm Adecco Group. The company polled 500 CEOs and business owners, and the results indicate that IT leaders are rising in stature with top executives, but they still have work to do if they are to have a more powerful voice when it comes to major business decisions. For now, CIOs can take encouragement from the increased recognition and appreciation of their contributions. "One of the striking points of the survey has to be the level of confidence today's CEO is placing in the CIO," says Jack Cullen, president of Modis, Adecco's IT staffing subsidiary, which released a portion of the findings. "This is a ringing endorsement for a company's CIO." Especially encouraging is the healthy outlook on IT spending, which Cullen said is "deemed critical to the company's bottom line." That said, CEOs still aren't equating IT department success with actual bottom-line results to the extent that they do with other departments. And they are not including CIOs among their most trusted advisors.