2015 global CIO survey Creating legacy

04 November 2015

Explore the results from the 2015 global CIO survey with these interactive charts.

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Section 1: Results among all respondents

Business priorities among all respondents

What is on the top of CIO business agendas?

CIOs’ top five business priorities were remarkably consistent across industry, geography, and size of organization, though there were some differences in emphasis. One understandable exception: Only CIOs involved in the public sector selected “cybersecurity” over “growth” as a top business priority.

Leadership and talent among all respondents

What characteristics are most important to CIOs?

We asked CIOs to select the top five competencies that a successful technology leader needs. Then we asked them to identify their own top five strengths. The gaps between these responses highlight areas where CIOs need to improve to make a lasting impact.

Technology investment priorities among all respondents

Where do CIOs invest to support the business?

When asked which technologies will have significant impact on the business within two years, CIOs unsurprisingly named analytics, business intelligence, and digital.

Relationships and influence among all respondents

Which relationships are the strongest?

A majority of CIOs claim to have excellent or very good relationships with business stakeholders, but outside of this group, there is a long tail of relationships that need more attention.

Section 2: CIO pattern types

What are the three CIO patterns?

As we explored the survey data, we uncovered three different patterns that describe how CIOs are delivering value: Trusted operator, change instigator, and business co-creator. We challenge you to evaluate your current position against your current business frame and consider what might be required when you need to move from one pattern to another.
  • Trusted operator: Deliver operational discipline and support business change through enabling technologies.
  • Change instigator: Lead technology-enabled business transformation and emphasize operational excellence.
  • Business co-creator: Focus on driving business strategy and balancing time across execution activities.

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Business priorities among the three patterns

What is on the top of CIO business agendas?

Business priorities differ among CIOs of different patterns: Trusted operators put cost at the top of the agenda, while change instigators and business co-creators prioritized innovation first.

Leadership and talent among the three patterns

What characteristics are most important to CIOs?

CIOs in each of the three patterns differ in their self-rated strengths. While CIOs of all three patterns saw themselves as strong in communication, trusted operators also claimed strength in execution, while change instigators viewed themselves as strong in technology vision and business co-creators said that they were strong in influencing internal stakeholders.

Technology investment priorities among the three patterns

Where do CIOs invest to support the business?

Among trusted operators and change instigators, legacy/core modernization emerged as the top area for "high" current levels of investment, closely followed by analytics and digital. Among business co-creators, analytics was the top area for "high" current investment, followed by digital and legacy/core modernization.

Relationships and influence among the three patterns

Which relationships are the strongest?

Trusted operators tended to have an excellent or very good relationship with the CFO. Many change instigators had an excellent or very good relationship with business-unit leaders, and many business co-creators claimed an excellent or very good relationship with the CEO.

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The 2015 global CIO survey engaged more than 1,200 CIOs and senior IT executives around the globe through surveys and interviews to explore how CIOs operate within the leadership ecosystems of the organizations they serve. The interactive charts below will allow you to explore the data based on industry, geography, company size, and CIO pattern type for the key areas highlighted in the report.