
Leading a technology team these days — whether you’re a chief information officer, chief innovation officer, or other IT manager — is no longer a matter of corralling programmers and administrators into a common purpose. Now, CIOs and other tech leaders need to corral the rest of the business into their orbits as well. The question is: Are IT teams still too entangled in managing infrastructure, applications, and related security issues to lead their businesses down new paths?
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Technology leaders such as CIOs are increasingly tasked with running the business and moving it forward, a recent Deloitte survey of 211 CIOs confirms. Close to half of the respondents, 46%, report their greatest priority this year is shaping, aligning, and delivering a unified tech strategy and vision.
In addition, they have high visibility, and many roles beyond the CIO are now involved. Nearly two-thirds (63%) say they report directly to the CEO. Transformation and innovation also topped to-do lists of tech heads, at 59%. A majority of tech leaders, 54%, consider themselves to be change agents. Currently, 83% of organizations have either a CIO or chief digital information officer, 52% have a chief technology officer, 31% have a chief information security officer, 30% have a chief data analytics officer, and 22% have a chief technology innovation officer.
Moving into these technology leadership roles means “not only have a firm grasp of the tech landscape and the capabilities available, but they are becoming fully immersed in the business and market trends, Anjali Shaikh, managing director and CIO program experience director at Deloitte Consulting, told ZDNET. “This ability to be ‘bilingual’ puts tech leaders at a clear advantage within the business because they