Reimagining IT: Insights From the 2011 Gartner CIO Agenda Report

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1 Reimagining IT: Insights From the 2011 Gartner CIO Agenda Report

2 What is the Gartner CIO Agenda Report? The annual Gartner CIO Agenda Report is informed by the world s largest CIO survey, which for over 10 years has tracked how CIOs balance their business, strategic, technical and management priorities. The report is a combination of survey findings, expert analysis and actionable insight. It serves as an enlightening baseline for CIOs to compare what they are doing with the activities and priorities of their global peers and to get a glimpse at what the future may hold. The survey findings in their entirety also comprise the foundation for the year s Gartner Executive Programs CIO research agenda. This year s survey encompassed 2,014 organizations in 50 countries across 38 industries, representing more than $160 billion in corporate and public sector IT spending. Here are some of the key insights from this year s report.

3 Reimagining IT: The 2011 CIO Agenda 1 It s Time to Reimagine IT IT needs to change and CIOs know it Last year, half of all the CIOs we surveyed believed that IT would have to change when the economy began recovering. Now that the recovery is under way, CIOs are beginning to reimagine IT and what it can do for the business with innovation and growth back on the horizon and new technologies changing the resource game. This reimagining is not optional it s a must. New lighter-weight technologies and IT models are already changing the resource requirements of IT operations. The good news? This enables IT leadership to focus more on growth and strategic impact. 50% of last year s CIO respondents believed that IT needed to change once the economy started to recover. 38% believed that IT could go back to the way it was. Your business needs a new kind of IT Business leaders are no longer alternating their priorities from growth to cost cutting and back again. The business strategies reported by this year s CIOs call for both cost cutting and growth, with much of the growth coming from expansion into adjacent markets or new geographies. These priorities lend themselves to IT solutions, with the ability of infrastructure to extend the reach of the enterprise into new markets while driving greater cost-efficiencies. The challenge? Only half of the CIOs surveyed believe that their organization is good at opening new markets. This creates a need for new capabilities. Top 5 global business strategies for Increasing enterprise growth 2. Attracting and retaining new customers 3. Reducing enterprise costs 4. Creating new products or services (innovation) 5. Improving business processes You have to transform while you perform The majority of CIOs surveyed report that their 2011 CIO IT budget growth is essentially flat at +1.0%. Even the 40% reporting budget growth of any kind told us they do not have (and will not get) the funds required to implement change while maintaining existing operations.

4 2 Reimagining IT: The 2011 CIO Agenda Business results are a CIO s greatest asset and most potent liability Business results drive CIO success CIOs attribute 88% of their success to their business results, business knowledge and C-level relationships represented by the dark blue bars in the figure below. While CIOs achieve business results through leading IT, technical excellence alone does not earn them a seat at the senior management table. CIO success is far from assured, given their uneven assessment of benefits realization and IT skill-building performance. Sources of CIO success Business results 37 Business knowledge 29 C-level relationships 14 Business relationships 8 IT knowledge 6 IT relationships 3 Authority as CIO Vendor relationships 1 2 Global average weighted importance on a ratio scale Change Management 63% use it 43% see it as effective Business Reviews 31% use it 47% see it as effective CIOs report that their success rests on common, but low-performing, techniques CIOs need new ways to realize benefits, as the techniques they use most often are the ones they report as least effective. The figure at left highlights two of the 10 techniques we surveyed. Fortunately, the most effective techniques are not difficult to implement. CIOs are creating an IT skills crisis Positive results come from having the right people with the right skills on the right projects. Unfortunately, only one in five CIOs has a high degree of confidence in the skills of their team. How do CIOs get the skills they need? Most hire temporary resources to cover the gaps. This gets the job done but creates a skills crisis, as IT personnel do not then have the opportunity to upgrade their skills to create and sustain business results.

5 Reimagining IT: The 2011 CIO Agenda 3 New infrastructures create new opportunities for IT to generate strategic value It s hard to be strategically relevant when you are copying generic best practices CIOs report that 81% of their strategies are closely linked to those of the business which is great. What isn t so great is that CIOs see the business strategies they re linked to as promoting generic best practices rather than creating competitive advantage. Addressing this disconnect requires that CIOs focus on innovation, growth, and new products and services in order to increase IT s strategic relevance. How unique is each of your strategic business priorities compared to those of your industry peers? Unique in our industry 7% Differentiator in our industry 28% General practices in our industry General practices across all industries 27% 27% Common knowledge and commodity 11% 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% Percentage of all business expectations Before 2015, many CIOs will move to the cloud for infrastructure and applications CIOs expect to be in their current position an average of four more years, and many expect to lead an infrastructure and operations transformation during that time. Today only 3% of CIOs have more than half of their infrastructure and applications operating in the cloud. That number is expected to grow to 46% by 2015, making cloud transformation the hallmark of many CIOs at their current companies. When do you estimate that your organization will support more than half of your transactions on a cloud infrastructure using a software-as-a-service model? % % % Never 23%

6 4 Reimagining IT: The 2011 CIO Agenda It s a great time to be a CIO Success means seeking new answers to new questions Today, more than ever, managing IT performance and delivering IT-intensive projects are necessary but not sufficient to create business, IT and CIO success. And finding new answers to the old questions of cost, quality and operations provides only a starting point. Leading CIOs are doing much more. They are seeking new answers to the new questions of revenue growth, global reach and innovation questions that define an organization s source of competitive advantage. They are creating a new CIO success cycle based on business and IT leadership. Raise benefits realization performance Build and rebalance internal skills Business leadership Maximize digital contribution Deliver business results and growth Increase CIO success and influence Maximize time as a business leader IT leadership Refocus IT toward the truly strategic Embrace new infrastructure delivery options Business results and business growth constitute both the outcome of, and the critical input to, CIO success. It s no longer enough to say, My work is done I m turning things over to you now. CIOs must meet the challenge of business success in a holistic and politically astute manner, addressing areas outside their direct control and being more disciplined about benefits realization.

7 Learn how leading CIOs are reimagining IT and how their experience applies to you As a CIO, you are facing complex issues for which there are no simple answers or simple solutions you can get from the Web. But you re not alone. Through membership in Gartner Executive Programs, you can learn from the experiences of the largest CIO community in the world while also getting custom insight and advice to put to work in your unique context. Together, we ll realize your vision taking what you have now and reimagining it to build IT s future as a contributor to innovation and growth.

8 Learn More Looking for objective, actionable insight to help drive the success of all your key initiatives? For additional Gartner resources, methodologies and toolkits including webinars and videos visit gartner.com/cioagenda or contact your account executive. About Gartner Executive Programs 4,000 CIOs and IT executives worldwide receive customized advice and participate in peer exchange opportunities through the membership-based programs of Gartner Executive Programs. Members enjoy service delivery in their context, unique insight into the CIO role and the shared knowledge of the largest communities of their kind. Through membership benefits including a team of service delivery professionals, exclusive research, access to CIO experts, peer networking opportunities and a rich online experience, programs such as Gartner for IT Executives CIO, CIO Signature and CIO Essentials equip members with the tools and knowledge they need to deliver exceptional results for their organizations. About Gartner Gartner, Inc. (NYSE: IT) is the world s leading information technology research and advisory company. We deliver the technology-related insight necessary for our clients to make the right decisions, every day. From CIOs and senior IT leaders in corporations and government agencies, to business leaders in hightech and telecom enterprises and professional services firms, to technology investors, we are the valuable partner to 60,000 clients in 11,000 distinct organizations. Through the resources of Gartner Research, Gartner Executive Programs, Gartner Consulting and Gartner Events, we work with every client to research, analyze and interpret the business of IT within the context of their individual role. Founded in 1979, Gartner is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, U.S.A., and has 4,400 associates, including 1,200 research analysts and consultants, and clients in 85 countries Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Gartner is a registered trademark of Gartner, Inc. or its affiliates.