CIOs are stretched more than ever before — and that’s a good thing

The CIO role is in a constant state of flux. What was a thorough set of roles and responsibilities a few years ago is far from adequate today, so the operationally focused CIO of the last decade isn’t the digital leader of the future, says Omer Grossman, global CIO at technology specialist CyberArk.

“Some CIOs just try and keep the lights on,” he says. “That’s a basic task and you don’t need a CIO for that role — an IT manager can handle that. To stay relevant, your role as a CIO must evolve.”

Pioneering digital leaders help organizations make the most out of emerging technologies, but to be successful, they must keep up with the fast pace of change and deliver the right solutions at the right time, and at the right cost. The good news is CIOs are embracing this demand.

Foundry’s 2024 State of the CIO research report shows 87% of CIOs are now more involved in leading digital transformation initiatives than their business counterparts, and 85% of IT leaders who responded view the CIO role as a changemaker, increasingly taking the lead on business and technology initiatives.

Anjali Shaikh, MD and CIO Program Experience director at Deloitte Consulting LLP, says it’s not surprising that CIOs play the lead role in digital initiatives. Technology touches every part of a transformation, regardless of whether it’s business-led or technology-led, and Deloitte research suggests that 59% of digital leaders believe today’s CIOs should enable transformation and innovation.

“CIOs are in a unique position where they have a full view of the business and are using their understanding to drive transformation,” she says. “Adapting to change while addressing growing responsibilities and expectations is par for the course for today’s technology executives, and we’re seeing many of them take these shifts in their stride.”

Shaikh says CIOs have long known the role technology should play in their organizations, but it’s only more recently the rest of the business has caught up. This shift in perception is because technology is pervasive across every business area. There’s an increased familiarity with IT compared to two decades ago, and smart CIOs are reaping the rewards.

“Many CIOs have built years of credibility and trust by blocking and tackling the traditional responsibilities of the role,” she adds. “They’re now being brought to the conversation as business leaders to help the organization think through transformational priorities because they’re functional experts like any other executive in the C-suite.” 

Bev White, CEO at recruiter Nash Squared, says the growing role of the CIO is unsurprising since digital leaders hold the attributes to lead a successful digital transformation: technical ability, boardroom influence, and project management skills. These capabilities make digital leaders well placed to lead large-scale change projects.

“The CIO isn’t the only contender to lead digital transformation, but they tick more boxes than most,” she says. “A good CIO is used to bringing parties together to connect and collaborate, while their technical know-how means they understand what data and technology is needed to meet the business’ transformation objectives.”

Taking on new responsibilities

What’s clear is the CIO role continues to broaden in response to market conditions and business demands. And despite CIOs adapting to this steep increase in the responsibility curve in unique ways, some basic fundamentals are universal.

Attiq Qureshi, CDIO at Manchester United Football Club, for instance, says that because digital transformation is part of his mandate, he’s expected to empower the club through technology. So delivering successful results means working with people far beyond the IT domain. He refers to this collaborative digital leadership role as a blurring of lines.

“We’ve got amazing data scientists at the club,” he says. “I deal with the underlying data-engineering part, and they do the clever analytics. In web app development, we’ve got a strong digital product team, too. They drive the agenda on features and functions they want, and my role is focused on the quality, execution, and engineering of that approach.”

Southwest Traders CIO Ambrose Earle also points to the importance of a close-working relationship across lines of business. He joined the company in 2018 and in his role as CIO, he engages with people across the organization, listening to their challenges while using his expertise to suggest technological solutions to the problems with which they identify.

“We can buy the best technology but if we don’t use it, we’ve wasted money,” he says. “Since I’ve been here, that’s what I measure myself against: are we using the technology, and if we are, that means we’ve picked a good partner; they have a good solution and provided support. Then my team has executed on their part to integrate that technology.”

That sentiment chimes with Hari Ramamurthy, technology fellow at The Home Depot. He says successful CIOs have a deep understanding of business problems from speaking with colleagues, understanding their issues, and selecting digital transformation tools from an ever-growing kitbag.

“Reimagining how technology can be applied to solve customer and business problems is key,” he says, referring to the rise of emerging technologies such as AI and ML. “Technology professionals must keep up with trends and ensure they’re leveraging the most appropriate tools for a particular task to deliver the best experiences.”

Nash Squared’s Digital Leadership Report Pulse also highlights the significance of innovation, reporting that the key priority for CIOs right now is to improve the efficiency of operations, typically through automation, AI, and better use of data. However, three in 10 CIOs also say revenue generation through technology is their top priority. Innovation, in short, must come with a side order of business benefits.

“Boards want technology to improve the top and bottom line, which can be a tough balance, even if it’s one that CIOs are getting used to managing,” says Nash Squared’s White. “On the one hand, they’re being asked to promote innovation and help generate revenue, and on the other, they’re often charged with governance and security, too.”

The importance of technology will only continue to increase going forward as well. Gen AI, for example, will make it possible to boost productivity while reducing costs. CyberArk’s Grossman expects the central role of digital leaders in exploiting these emerging technologies will mean high-level CIOs will be even more important in the future.

“If I’m looking five to 10 years from now, the more mature organization will manage those different capabilities under one umbrella — the CIO umbrella,” he says. “That increase in responsibility will make the CIO one of the most important C-level executives in the company because technology is revolutionizing the world, and the CIO has a big part to play.”

Collaborating to deliver great results

IT managers of the past have given way to modern digital leaders who use technology to enable long-term business growth. Today, the CIO is at the very heart of decision-making processes, shouldering big shifts in roles, responsibilities, and relationships.

Sasha Jory, CIO at insurer Hastings Direct, says you can’t lead technology transformation without working hand in glove with the business. This close interface with senior executives means digital leaders have a new sense of authority. However, Jory says CIOs who develop a sense of self-importance because of their increased visibility are unlikely to excel.

“If you’re a CIO divorced from the business, I don’t think you’ll be successful and get the business to where it needs to be,” she says. “I hope that taking the lead role for digital transformation wouldn’t go to any CIO’s head because the initiative should be for the greater good of your customers, outcomes, and business partners.”

Manchester United’s Qureshi agrees and says CIOs will struggle if they see the opportunity to take responsibility for digital transformation as a land grab. Technology leaders can be rightly proud of their growing roles and responsibilities, but they should spend their time building bonds rather than expanding territories.

“I work with an HR team keen to explore how we can use technology to let our colleagues do their jobs better,” he says. “I’m working with very sophisticated use cases in analytics and data science, so it’s not about land grab, mandate, and domain. It’s about orchestration and collaboration.”

JP Avelange, CIO for technology specialist Expereo, is another digital leader who points to the importance of orchestration. The growing influence of the CIO might come as a surprise to some, especially people who underestimated the impact of IT in the enterprise. However, modern digital leaders must extend their scope and adapt to new demands to stay relevant.

“To build a conducive business environment, CIOs need to act as orchestrators,” says Avelange. “They must foster strong relationships with other C-suite executives to align on wider business objectives. They should also encourage cross-functional collaboration to ensure co-creation of value and break down silos between IT and other departments.” 

While the role of the CIO has changed, the type of digital leader has shifted more dramatically, says Hastings Direct’s Jory. Gone are the days when a CIO took an overarching view of technology strategy and relied on armies of staff to implement their ideas. Today, CIOs must be deeply embedded in the business and the demands of their customers.

“Everything is moving so fast,” she says. “You can’t afford to sit there and write three-year transformation plans and go through loads of governance and red tape. If you have a three-year digital transformation plan, it’ll be dead in three months. You need to be agile and responsive, and to do that, you need to collaborate.”