2012 CIO Agenda Findings
Amplifying the Enterprise: The 2012 CIO Agenda
The Gartner 2012 CIO Survey finds that in the face of extraordinary competitive pressure, the business is pulling CIOs in multiple directions, asking them to focus on growth, the customer and costs, all at the same time. The solution? Amplification. Using IT as a means to eliminate distortion and strengthen connections, CIOs will be newly empowered to create compelling customer experiences, impact operational efficiencies directly and lead digital engagement in every corner of the enterprise.
CIO IT strategies for 2012 focus on delivering business solutions while reducing IT costs. Based on the strategies reported in the figure below, CIOs intend to use IT to help the enterprise react to the complex, dynamic and conflicting conditions within the global economy and deliver business strategies. They are fundamentally transforming the role of IT from a cost containment division to one that innovates to strengthen the customer experience and finds new channels of growth.
One in five CIOs cited IT budgets as being the single largest barrier to gaining value from IT. This issue will force IT organizations to be more judicious in their use of resources and to limit disruptions in the supply of information.
Limited budget increases have made it difficult for enterprises to adopt many of the new lighter-weight technologies developed over the past few years. Although some companies may see this as a sign for them to wait on investing, that would be a huge mistake. More than a third of CIOs (35%) believe that the customer experience is the best opportunity for IT innovation (see figure below). And taking advantage of that opportunity will require companies to invest in and develop social media, CRM, document management, externally facing mobile applications, supply chain management, and sale and service technologies.
Technology's role in the enterprise (not necessarily the role of IT) is increasing. The rise of personal mobile devices, social media, analytics and other technologies will dramatically increase productivity and ways to reach the market. Technology is externally faced and forward-looking, whereas IT is typically perceived as a management function and focused on internal operations. Those leaders who harness technology as a way to open markets and reach customers will be able to drive business value in their enterprise.
In the face of limited financial resources and productive capacity, CIOs are focusing their strategies on areas that raise enterprise performance. While they consider IT broadly relevant to enterprise effectiveness, they recognize that IT is currently less relevant to externally facing issues relating to strategic objectives, business innovation and creating new channels (see figure below).
Technology will be at the center of the next revolution in media and communications. Greater customer interaction will spur business and help companies attract new customers while managing closer relationships with existing ones. CIOs can remain focused on traditional IT—the automation and administration of business processes—or they can engage new technologies to amplify the enterprise externally and internally.
As CIOs build IT into an enterprise amplifier, they will find themselves with greater power in deciding their company's future. In companies where good communication between IT and business executives is lacking, disorganization, poor corporate governance and an inability to understand customer needs will be a drag on growth.
In 2012, IT will have to play a larger part in corporate strategy if the enterprise wants to outperform its peers. Gone are the days of specific technologies for specific problems. Enterprise executives have already decided how to confront the future; now it is up to the CIO to take action.
