CIOs fail to grab competitive advantage

News

posted 21 Feb 2005

CIOs fail to grab competitive advantage

CIOs in the UK are failing to grab competitive advantage and use technology to help their enterprises break away from the competition, according to a Gartner survey of 1,300 CIOs. In the UK, only 28 per cent of CIOs interviewed believed their companies were outperforming the market.

Marcus Blosch, group VP and research director for Gartner Executive Programs (EXP), a membership-based organisation of more than 1,900 CIOs worldwide, says this year’s CIO report shows a clear change in gear. “Last year it was all about cost cutting whereas this year CIOs are focussing on their contribution to growth,” he says.

Business process improvement was ranked as the top business priority, followed by security breaches and disruptions, a hardy perennial at the top of the chart. Blosch comments that the need for security is underlined by corporate governance regulations that have also forced the focus on to improving business processes. “This is a huge issue in Europe; there is a lot of pressure to manage information properly,” says Blosch. “There is pressure from the CEO who is putting a lot more emphasis on corporate governance and issues of reputation and brand.”

There is no doubt that many CIOs are feeling the heat and wondering how to protect their position. “We have seen a bifurcation of the CIO activity. In many organisations there is no need for the CIO to go beyond the infrastructure and transactional levels, whereas in other companies the business is looking to grow and there are opportunities for CIOs. There is a large group of people midway who have to decide which way to go,” says Blosch.

He warns that CIOs have to get the basics right before moving into new areas: “You have to provide a stable core of IT services; if your e-mail is going down you can forget about recommending business- process work as your credibility goes to the floor. You have to earn your stripes and prove you can do it. Remove costs, make the organisation more efficient, and only then you can move on to business processes.”

Gartner EXP surveyed more than 1,300 CIOs representing $57bn in IT spending, covering more than 30 countries. About 60 responses were from the UK.